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v;i-rVSft»lTT  OF 
CALIPORNIA 

SAN  Dteeo 


1    W  rfSy 

V.  // 


THE  GENERAL 

BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY : 

CONTAINING 
AN  HISTORICAL  AND  CRITICAL  ACCOUNT 

OF    THE 

LIVES  AND  WRITINGS 

OF   THE 

MOST    EMINENT    PERSONS 

IN    EVERY   NATION; 

PARTICULARLY  THE  BRITISH  AND  IRISH; 
FROM  THE  EARLIEST  ACCOUNTS  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

A  NEW  EDITION, 

REVISED   AND    ENLARGED    BY 

ALEXANDER  CHALMERS,  F.  S.  A. 
VOL.  XL 


LONDONi 

rniNTED  FOR  J.  NICHOLS  AND  SON  ;  F.  C.  AND  J.  RIVINGTON ;  T.  rAYNK  ; 
OTRIDGE  AND  SON  ;  G.  AND  W.  NICOL  ;  WILKIE  AND  ROBINSON  ;  S.  WALKER  ; 
W.  LEA;  W.  LOWNDES;  WHITE,  COCHRANE,  AND  CO.;  J.  DEIGHTON; 
T.  EGERTON  ;  LACKINGTON,  ALLEN,  AND  CO.;  J.  CARPENTER;  LONGMAN, 
HURST,  REES,  ORME,  AND  BROWN;  CADELL  AND  DAVIES  ;  C.  LAW  ;  J.  BOOKER  ; 
J.  CUTHELL  ;  CLARKE  AND  SONS;  J.  AND  A.  ARCH;  J.  HARRIS;  BLACK, 
TARRY,  AND  CO,;  J.  BOOTH  ;  J.  MAWMAN  ;  GALE,  CURTIS,  AND  FENNER; 
R.  H.  EVANS;  J.  HATCHARD;  J.  HARDING;  R.  BALDWIN  J  J.  MURRAY  J 
i.  JOHNSON  AND  CO.  ;   E.  BENTLEY  ;  AND  J.   FAULDER. 

1813. 


A   NEW   AND   GENERAL 


BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY. 


'RTCHTON   (James),    was  a  Scotch    gentleman,    who 
lived  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  has  furnished  a  sort  of 
biographical  romance.     His  endowments  both  of  body  and 
mind  were  esteemed  so  great,  that  he  obtained  the  appel- 
lation of  "  The  admirable  Crichton,"'and  by  that  title  he 
has  continued  to  be  distinguished  down  to  the  present  day. 
The  accounts  given  of  his  abilities  and  attainments  are 
indeed  so  wonderful,  that  they  se&m  scarcely  to  be  credi- 
ble ;  and  many  persons  have  been   disposed  to    consider 
them   as  almost  entirely  fabulous,  though  they  have  been 
delivered   with   the   utmost  confidence,    and   without  any 
degree   of  hesitation,    by  various  writers.     The  time  of 
Crichton's  birth  is  said,   by  the  generality  of  authors,  to 
have  been  in  1551  ;  but  according  to  lord  Buchan,  it  ap- 
pears from  several  circumstances,  that  he  was  born  in  the 
month  of  August,  15G0.     His  father  was  Robert  Crichton 
of  EUiock  in  the  county  of  Perth,  and  lord  advocate  of 
Scotland  in  queen  IVJary's  reign,  from  1561  to  1573  ;  part 
of   which  time  he   held  that  office  in   conjunction    with 
Spens  of  Condie.     The  mother  of  James  Crichton  was 
Ehzabeth  Stuart,  the  only  daughter  of  sir  James  Stuart  of 
Beath,  who  was  a  descendant  of  Robert  duke  of  Albany, 
the  third  son  of  king  Robert  H.  by  Elizabeth  Muir,  or 
More,  as  she  is  commonly  called.    It  is  hence  evident,  that 
when  the  admirable  Crichton  boasted,  as  he  did  abroad, 
that  he  was  sprung  from  Scottish  kings,  he  said  nothing 
but  what  was  agreeable  to  truth.     Nevertheless,  Thoihas 
Dempster,  who  sufficiently  amplifies  hi«  praises  ia  other 
Vol,  XL  B 


2  CRICHTON. 

respects,  passes  a  severe  censure  upon  liim  on  this  ac- 
count ;  which  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  Dempster  lived 
so  near  the  time,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  the  genea- 
logies of  the  great  families  of  Scotland.  James  Crichton 
is  said  to  have  received  his  granmiatical  edu'.  atioii  at  Perth, 
and  to  have  studied  philosophy  in  the  university  of  St. 
Andrew.  His  tutor  in  that  university  was  Mr.  John 
Rutherford,  a  professor  at  that  time  famous  for  l^.is  learn- 
ing, and  who  distinguished  himself  by  writing  four  books 
on  Aristotle's  Logic,  and  a  commentary  on  his  Poetics. 
But  nothing,  according  to  Mackenzie,  can  give  us  a 
higher  idea  of  Rutherford's  worth  and  merit,  than  his  be- 
ing master  of  that  wonder  and  prodigy  of  his  age,  the 
great  and  admirable  Crichton.  However,  it  is  not  to  this 
professor  alone  that  the  honour  is  ascribed  of  having  formed 
so  extraordinary  a  character.  There  are  others  who  may 
put  in  their  claim  to  a  share  in  the  same  glory  ;  for  Aldus 
Manutius,  who  calls  Crichton  first  cousin  to  the  king,  says 
that  he  was  educated,  along  with  his  majesty,  under  Bu- 
chanan, Hepburn,  and  Robertson,  as  well  as  Rutherford. 
Indeed,  whatever  might  be  the  natural  force  of  his  genius, 
many  masters  must  have  been  necessary,  in  order  to  his 
acquiring  such  a  variety  of  attainments  as  he  is  represented 
to  have  possessed.  For  it  is  related,  that  he  had  scarcely 
reached  the  twentieth  year  of  his  age,  wheiV  he  had  run 
through  the  whole  circle  of  the  sciences,  and  could  speak 
and  write  to  perfection  in  ten  different  languages.  Nor 
was  this  all  ;  for  he  had  likewise  improved  himself  to  the 
highest  degree  in  riding,  dancing,  and  singing,  and  in 
playing  upon  all  sorts  of  instruments.  Crichton,  being 
thus  accomplished,  went  abroad  upon  his  travels,  and  is 
said  to  have  gone  to  Paris  ;  of  his  transactions  at  which 
j)lace  the  following  account  is  given.  He  caused  six  pla- 
cards to  be  fixed  on  the  gates  of  the  schools,  halls,  and 
colleges  belonging  to  the  university,  and  on  the  pillars 
and  posts  before  the  houses  of  the  most  renowned  men  for 
literature  in  the  city,  inviting  all  those  who  were  well 
versed  in  any  art  or  science  to  dispute  with  him  in  the 
college  of  Navarre,  that  day  six  weeks,  by  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  where  he  would  attend  tliem,  and  be  ready 
to  answer  to  whatever  should  be  proposed  to  him  in  any 
art  or  science,  and  in  any  of  these  twelve  languages,  He- 
brew, Syriac,  Arabic,  Greek,  Latin,  Spanish,  French,  Ita- 
lian,  English,   Dutch,  Flemish,  and  Sclavonian  j  and  this 


C  R  I  C   H  T  O  N.  $ 

either  in  verse  or  prose,  at  the  discretion  of  the  disputant. 
During  this  whole  time,  instead  of  closel}'  applying  to  his 
studies,  he  regarded  nothing  but  hunting,  hawking,  tilting, 
vaulting,  riding  of  a  well-managed  horse,  tossing  the  pike, 
handling  the  muscjuet,  and  other  military  feats;  or  else  he 
employed  himself  in  domestic  games,  such  as  balls,  con- 
certs of  music,  vocal  and  instrumental;  cards,  dice,  tennis, 
and  other  diversions  of  youth.  This  conduct  so  provoked 
the  students  of  the  university,  that,  beneath  the  placard 
that  was  Hxed  on  the  Navarre  gate,  they  caused  the  fol- 
lowing words  to  be  written  :  "  If  you  would  meet  with  this 
monster  of  {jerfection,  to  search  for  him  either  in  the  ta- 
vern or  the  brothel  is  the  readiest  way  to  find  him."  Ne- 
vertheless, when  the  day  appointed  arrived,  Crichton  ap- 
peared in  the  college  of  Navarre,  and  acquitted  himself 
beyond  expression  in  the  disputation,  which  lasted  from 
nine  in  the  morning  till  six  at  night.  At  length,  the  presi- 
dent, after  extolling  him  highly  for  the  many  rare  and 
excellent  endowments  which  God  and  nature  had  bestowed 
upon  him,  rose  from  his  chair ;  and,  accompanied  by  four 
of  the  most  eminent  professors  of  the  university,  gave  hirn 
a  diamond  ring  and  a  purse  full  of  gold,  as  a  testimony  of 
their  approbation  and  I'avour.  The  whole  ended  with  the 
repeated  acclamations  and  huzzas  of  the  spectators ;  and 
henceforward  our  young  disputant  was  called  "  The  ad- 
mirable Crichton."  It  is  added,  that  he  was  so  little 
fatigued  with  the  dispute,  that  he  went  the  very  next  day 
to  the  Louvre,  where  he  had  a  match'at  tilting,  an  exer- 
cise then  in  great  vogue  ;  and,  in  presence  of  some  princes 
of  the  court  of  France,  and  a  great  many  ladies,  carried 
away  the  ring  fifteen  times  successively,  and  broke  as  many 
lances  on  the  Jjaracen,  whatever  that  might  be  ;  probably 
a  sort  of  mark. 

The  next  account  we  have  of  Crichton  is,  that  he  went 
to  Rome,  where  he  fixed  a  ])lacard  in  all  the  eminent 
places  of  the  city,  in  the  following  terms  :  "  Nos  Jacobus 
Crichtonus,  Scotus,  cuicunque  rei  propositae  ex  improviso 
respondebimus."  In  a  city  which  abounded  in  wit,  this 
bold  challenge,  to  answer  to  any  question  that  could  be 
proposed  to  him,  without  his  being  previously  advertised 
of  it,  could  not  escape  the  ridicule  of  a  pasquinade.  It  is 
said,  however,  that  being  nowise  discouraged,  he  appeared 
at  the  time  and  place  appointed,  and  that,  in  presence  of 
the  pope,  many  cardinals,  bishops,  and  doctors  of  divi- 

B  2 


4  CRICHTON. 

nity,  and  pr6f6Ssors  in  all  the  sciences,  he  displayed  such 
wonderful  ptoofs  of  his  universal  knowledge,  that  he  ex- 
cited no  less  surprise  than  he  had  done  at  Paris.  Bocca- 
lini,  who  was  then  at  Rome,  gives  something  of  a  different 
relation  of  the  matter.  According  to  this  author,  the  pas- 
quinade against  Crichton,  which  was  to  the  following  ef- 
fect, "  And  he  that  will  see  it,  let  him  go  to  the  sign  of 
the  Falcon,  and  it  shall  be  shewn,"  made  such  an  impres- 
sion upon  him,  that  he  left  a  place  where  he  had  been  so 
grossly  affronted  as  to  be  put  upo-n  a  level  with  jugglers 
and  mountebanks.  From  Rome  he  went  to  Venice,  at  his 
approach  to  which  city  he  appears  to  have  been  in  consi- 
derable distress,  of  mind  at  least,  if  not  with  regard  to 
external  circumstances.  This  is  evident  from  the  follow- 
ing lines  of  his  poem,  *'  In  suum  ad  urbem  Venetam  ap- 
pulsum :'' 

"  Saep^  meo  animo  casus  meditabar  iniquos, 
Saipe  humectabam  guttis  stillantibus  era." 

The  chief  design  of  Crichton  in  this  poem  was  to  obtain  a 
favourable  reception  at  Venice,  and  particularly  from  Al- 
dus Manutius,  whose  praises  he  celebrates  in  very  high 
strains.  When  he  presented  his  verses  to  Manutius,  that 
critic  was  strack  with  a  very  agreeable  surprise  ;  and 
judged,  from  the  performance,  that  the  author  of  it  must 
be  a  person  of  extraordinary  genius.  Upon  discoursing 
with  the  stranger,  he  was  filled  with  admiration  ;  and, 
finding  him  to  be  skilled  in  every  subject,  he  introduced 
him  to  the  acquaintance  of  the  principal  men  of  learning 
and  note  in  Venice.  Here  he  contracted  an  intimate 
friendship  not  only  with  Aldus  Manutius,  but  with  Lau- 
rentius  Massa,  Spei'o  Speronius,  Johannes  Donatus,  and 
various  other  learned  persons,  to  whom  he  presented  seve- 
ral poems  in  commendation  of  the  city  and  university. 
Three  of  Crichton's  odes,  one  addressed  to  Aldus  Manu- 
tius, and  another  to  Laurentius  Massa,  and  a  third  to  Jo- 
hannes Donatus,  are  still  preserved;  but  are  certainly  not 
the  productions  either  of  an  extraordinary  genius,  or  a  cor- 
rect writer.  At  length  he  was  introduced  to  the  doge  and 
senate ;  in  whose  presence  he  made  a  speech,  whicli  was 
accompanied  with  such  beauty  of  eloquence,  and  such 
grace  of  person  and  manner,  that  he  received  the  thanks 
of  that  illustrious  body  ;  and  nothing  was  talked  of  through 
the  whole  city  but  this  rara  in  terris  avis,  this  prodigy  of 
nAture.     He  held  likewise  disputations  on  the  subjects  of 


CRICHTON.  $ 

theolo[ry,  philosophy,  and  mathematics,  before  the   most 
eminent  professors,  and  large  multitudes  of  people.      His 
reputation  was  so  great,  that  the  desire  of  seeing  and  hear- 
ing him  brought  together  a  vast  concourse  of  persons  from 
different  quarters  to  Venice.     It   may  be  collected   from 
Manutius,  that  tl^e  time  in  which  Crichton  exhibited  these 
demonstrations   of  his   abilities,     was  in    the  year    1580. 
During  his  residence  at  Venice,  he  fell  into  a  bad  state  of 
iiealth,  which  continued  for  the  space  of  four  months,   and 
before  he  was  perfectly  recovered,  he  went,  by  the  advice 
of  his  friends,   to   Padua,  the  university  of  which  city  was 
at  that  time  in  great  reputation.     The  day  after  his  arrival, 
there  was  a  meeting  of  all  the  learned  men  of  the  place, 
at  the  house  of  Jacobus  Aloj'sius  Cornelius  ;  when  Crich- 
ton opened  the  assembly  with  an   extemporary  poem  in 
praise  of  the  city,   the  university,  and  the  company  who 
had  honoured  him  with  their  presence.     After  this,  he  dis- 
puted for  six  hours  with  the  most  celebrated  professors,  on 
various  subjects  of  learning;  and  he  exposed,  in  particu- 
lar, the  errors  of  Aristotle,  and  his  commentators,  with  so 
much  solidity  and  acuteness,  and,  at  the  same  time,  with 
so  much   modesty,  that  he  excited  universal  admiration. 
In    conclusion,    he   delivered,    extempore,   an    oration   in 
praise  of  ignorance,  which  was  conducted  with  such  inge- 
nuity and  elegance,  that  his  hearers  were  astonished.    This 
display  of  Crichton's   talents  was  on   the   14th   of  March, 
1581.     Soon  after,  he  appointed  another  day  for  disputa- 
tion at  the  palace  of  the  bishop  of  Padua  ;  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  affording  higher  proofs  of  his  abilities,  for  that 
could  not   possibly  be  done,  but  in  compliance  with  the 
earnest  solicitations  of  some  persons,  who  were  not  present 
at  the  former  assembly.     However,  several  circumstances 
occurred,  which  prevented  this  meeting  from  taking  place. 
Such  is  the  account  of  ManTitius  ;  but  Imperialis  relates, 
that  he  was  informed  by  his  father,  who  was  present  upon 
the  occasion,  that  Crichton  was  opposed  by  Archantrelus 
Mercenarius,  a  famous  philosopher,  and  that  he  acquitted 
himself  so  well  as  to  obtain  the  approbation  of  a  very  ho- 
nourable  company,    and    even  of  his  antagonist  himself. 
Amidst  the  discourses  which  were  occasioned  by  our  youno- 
Scotchman's   exploits,  and  the  high  applauses  that  were 
bestowed  on  his  genius  and  attainments,  there  were  somd 
persons  who  endeavoured  to  detract  from  his  merit.     For 
ever,  therefore,  to  confound  these  invidious  impugners  of 


6  CRICHTON. 

his  talents,  he  caused  a  paper  to  be  fixed  on  the  gates  of 
St.  John  and  8t.  Paul's  churches,  in  which  he  offered  to 
prove  before  the  university,  that  the  errors  of  Aristotle, 
and  of  all  his  followers,  were  almost  innumerable  ;  and  that 
the  latter  had  failed,  both  in  explaining  their  master's 
meaning,  and  in  treating  on  theological  subjects.  He 
promised  likewise  to  refute  the  dreams  of  certain  mathe- 
matical professors;  to  dispute  in  all  the  sciences;  and  to 
answer  to  whatever  should  be  proposed  to  him,  or  objected 
aoainst  him.  All  this  he  enoaj?:ed  to  do,  either  in  the 
common  logical  way,  or  by  numbers  and  mathematical 
figures,  or  in  an  hundred  sorts  of  verses,  at  the  option  of 
his  opponents.  According  to  Manutius,  Crichton  sustain- 
ed this  contest  without  fatigue,  for  three  days;  during 
which  time  he  supported  his  credit,  and  maintained  his 
propositions,  with  such  spirit  and  energy,  that,  from  an 
unusual  concourse  of  people,  he  obtained  acclamations  and 
praises,  than  which  none  more  magnificent  were  ever  heard 
by  men. 

The  next  account  we  have  of  Crichton,   and  which  ap- 
pears to  have  been  transmitted,  through  sir  Thomas  Urqu- 
hart,  to  later  biographers,  is  of  an  extraordinary  instance 
of  bodily  courage  and   skill.     It  is  said,   that  at   Mantua 
there  was  at  this  time  a  gladiator,  who  had  foiled,   in  his 
travels,  the  most  famous  fencers  in  Europe,  and  had  lately 
killed  three  persons  who  had  entered  the  lists  with   him. 
The  duke  of  Mantua  was  much  grieved  at  having  granted 
this  man  his  protection,   as  he  found  it  to  be  attended  with 
such  fatal  consequences.      Crichton,   being  informed  of  his 
highness's  concern,  offered   his  service,   not  oidy  to  drive 
the  murderer  from  Mantua,  but  from  Italy,   and   to  fight 
him  for  fifteen   hundred  pistoles.     Though  the  duke  was 
unwilling  to  expose  such  an  accomplished  gentleman  to  so 
great  a  hazard,  yet,  relying  upon  the  report  he  had  heard 
of  his  warlike  achievements,   he  agreed  to  the  proposal ; 
and,  the  time  and  place  being  appointed,   the  whole  court 
attended  to  behold  the  performance.     At  the  beginning 
of  the  combat,  Crichton  stood  only  on  his  defence;  while 
the  Italian  made  his  attack  with  such  eagerness  and  fury, 
that,   having  over- acted  himself,  he  began  to  grow  weary. 
Our  young  Scotchman  now  seized  the  opportunity  of  at- 
facking   his  antagonist  in   return  ;   which  he  did  with   so 
much  dexterity  and   vigour,   that  he  ran  him   through  the 
body  in  three  different  places,  of  which  wounds  he  imme- 


C  R  I  C  H  T  O  N. 


diately  died.     The   acclamations  of  the  spectators   were 
loud   and   extraordinary  upon   this   occasion  ;  and   it   was 
acknowledged  by  all  of  them,  that  they  had  never  seen  art 
grace   nature,  or  nature  second  the  precepts  of  art,   in  so 
lively  a  manner  as  thev  had  beheld  these  two  thin<'^s  ac- 
complished  on  that  day.     To  crown  the  glory  of  the  action, 
Crichton  bestowed  the  prize  of  his  victory  upon  the  wi- 
dows of  the  three  persons  who  had  lost  their  lives  in  fight- 
ing with  the  gladiator.     It  is  asserted,  that,  in  consequence 
of  this,   and  liis  other  wonderful  performances,  the  duke  of 
Mantua  made  choice  of  him  for  preceptor  to  his  son  V^in- 
centio  di  Gonzaga,  who  is  represented  as  being  of  a  riotous 
temper  and  a  dissolute  life.     The  appointment  was  highly 
pleasing  to  the  court.      Crichton,  to  testify  his  gratitude  to 
his  friends  and  benefactors,  and  to  contribute  to  their  di- 
version, framed,   we  are  told,  a  comedy,  wherein    he  ex- 
posed and  ridiculed  all  the  weaknesses  and  failures  of  the 
several  employments  in   which  men  are  engaged.      This 
composition  was  regarded  as  one  of   the  most    ingenious 
satires  that  was  ever  made  upon  mankind.      But  the  most 
astonishing  part  of  the   story  is,   that   Crichton  sustained 
fifteen  characters  in   the  representation   of  his  own   play. 
Among  the  rest,  he  acted  the  divine,   the  philosopher,  the 
lawyer,  the  mathematician,  the  physician,  and  the  soldier, 
with  such  inimitable  grace,   that   every  time  he  appeared 
upon  the  stage  he  seemed  to  be  a  different  person  *. 


*  This  may  be  no  improper  place  to 
give  our  readers  a  specimen  of  I  lie  style 
of  sir  Thomas  Urqiiliart,  one  of  Crich- 
ton's  biographers,  a  style  which,  while 
it  has  been  censured  bj'  modern  cri- 
tics, must  be  allowed  a  very  happy 
imitation  of  the  romances  which  turned 
don  Quixote's  brain,  and  is  no  less 
happily  employed  on  a  hero  whose 
exploits  are  ('i)ually  romantic.  Speak- 
ing of  the  Gfteen  characters  played 
by  Crichton,  sir  Thomas  says,  "  Sum- 
moning- all  his  spirits  together,  whi -h 
never  failed  to  be  ready  at  t!,e  <'all  of 
so  worthy  a  commander,  he  did,  hy 
their  assistance,  so  cougloiTierale, 
shuffle,  mix,  ami  interlace  the  gestures, 
inclinations,  actions,  and  very  tones  of 
the  speech  of  those  lifiet^n  several  sorts 
of  men  whose  carriages  he  did  per- 
sonate, into  au  inestimahle  oilapodrida 
©f  immaterial  morsels  of  divers  kinds, 
suitable  to  the  very  Arnbrosian  relish 
of  the  lieliconiaa  iiymplis,  that  in  the 


peripetia  of  this  drammatical  cxercita- 
tion,  by  the  inchanted  transportation 
of  the  eyes  and  eares  of  its  specta- 
bundai  auditorie,  one  would  have 
sworne  that  they  all  had  looked  with 
mulliplyii)^  glasses,  and  that  (like 
that  aiis;el  in  the  Scripture,  whose  voice 
was  said  to  be  like  the  voice  of  a  mul- 
titude) they  heard  in  him  alone  the 
promiscuous  speech  of  fifieen  several 
actors  ;  by  the  various  ravishmmts  of 
the  excellencies  whereof,  in  thefrolick- 
ni'ss  of  i  jocund  straiiie  hevond  expec- 
tation, the  logofaciuaied  spirit-  of  the 
beholding  hearers  and  aucicularie 
spectators,  were  so  on  a  sudden  seazed 
upon  in  their  risible  faculties  of  the 
soul,  and  all  their  vital  motions  so 
universally  aflecied  in  this  extrtmitie 
of  agitation,  that  to  avoid  the  inevita- 
ble  charmes  of  his  intoxicating  ejacu- 
lations, and  the  accumulative  influ- 
ences of  so  powerfull  a  transportation, 
one  wf  my  lady  dutchess  chief  maids  of 


8  CRICHTON. 

From  being  the  principal  actor  in  a  comedy,  Criciiton 
soon  became  the  subject  of  a  dreadful  tragedy.  One  night, 
during  the  time  of  carnival,  as  he  was  walking  along  the 
streets  of  Mantua,  and  playing  upon  his  guitar,  he  was 
attacked  by  half  a  dozen  people  in  masks.  The  assailants 
found  that  they  had  no  ordinary  person  to  deal  with ;  for 
they  were  not  able  to  maintain  their  ground  against  him. 
In  the  issue,  the  leader  of  the  company,  being  disarmed, 
pulled  off  his  mask,  and  begged  his  life,  telling  him  that 
he  was  the  prince  his  pupil.  Crichton  immediately  fell  on 
his  knees,  and  expressed  his  concern  for  his  mistake  ;  al- 
leging, that  what  he  had  done  was  only  in  his  own  de- 
fence, and  that  if  Gonzaga  had  any  design  upon  his  life 
he  might  always  be  master  of  it.  Then,  taking  his  own 
sword  by  the  point,  he  presented  it  to  the  prince,  who 
immediately  received  it,  and  was  so  irritated  by  the  affront 
which  he  thouofht  he  had  sustained  in  being  foiled  with  all 
his  attendants,  that  he  instantly  ran  Crichton  through  the 
heart.  Various  have  been  the  conjectures  concerning  the 
motives  which  could  induce  Vincentio  di  Gonzaga  to  be 
guilty  of  so  ungenerous  and  brutal  an  action.  Some  have 
ascribed  it  to  jealousy,  asserting  that  he  suspected  Crich- 
ton to  be  more  in  favour  than  himself  with  a  lady  whom  he 
passionately  loved  ;  and  sir  Thomas  Urquhart  has  told  a 
story  upon  this  head  which  is  extravagant  and  ridiculous  in 
the  highest  degree.  Others,  with  greater  probability,  re- 
present the  whole  transaction  as  the  result  of  a  drunken 
frolic  ;  and  it  is  uncertain,  according  to  In)perialis,  whether 
the  meeting  of  the  prince  and  Crichton  was  by  accident  or 
design.  However,  it  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  that  Crichton 
lost  his  life  in  this  rencontre.     The  time  of  his  decease  is 

honour,  by  tlie  veheniencie  of  the  the  ineffable  extasle  of  an  overmas- 
shock  of  those  incomprehensible  rap-  tered  apprehension,  fell  back  in  a 
tnres,  burst  forth  into  a  laughter,  to  swown,  without  the  appearance  of  any 
the  rupture  of  a  vcine  in  her  body  ;  other  life  into  her,  then  what  by  the 
and  another  young  lady,  by  the  irre-  most  refined  wits  of  theological  specu- 
sistible  viiilence  of  the  pleasure  un-  lators  is  conceived  to  be  exerced  by 
awares  infused,  where  the  tender  re-  the  purest  parts  of  the  separated  en- 
ceptibilitie  of  her  loo  too  tickled  fancie  telechies  of  blessed  saints  in  Iheir  sub- 
was  least  able  to  hold  out,  so  unpro-  liinest  conversations  with  the  celestial 
videdly  was  surprised,  that  with  no  hierarchies  :  this  accident  procured 
less  impetuositie  of  ridihundal  passion  the  incoming  of  an  apolhecarie  with 
then  (as  hath  been  told)  occasioned  a  restoratives,  as  the  other  did  that  of  a 
fracture  in  the  other  young  ladle's  surgeon,  with  consolidative  medica- 
moilestie,  she,  not  able  longer  to  sup-  mt  nts."  See  Sir  John  Hawkins's  Life 
port  the  well  beloved  burthen  of  so  of  Johnson,  and  Urquharl's  Tracts, 
excessive  delight,  and  intransing  joys  p.  71 — 76. 
oftiuch  mercurial  exhilarations,  tbrouj^li 


CRICHTON.  9 

said,  by  the  generality  of  his  biographers,  to  have  been  in 
the    beginning  of  July    158a  ;     but    lord    Biichan,    most 
iikely  in  consequence  of  a  more  accurate  inquiry,  fixes   it 
to  the  same  month  in  the  preceding  year.     1  here  is  a  dif- 
ference likewise  with  regard  to  the  period  of  life  at  which 
Crichton  died.     The  common  accounts  declare  that  he  was 
killed  in  the  thirty -second  year  of  his  age;  but  Jmperialis 
asserts   that  he  was  only  in  his   twenty-second  when  that 
calamitous  event  took  place  ;  and  this  fact  is  confirmed  by 
lord  Buchan.      Criehton's  tragical  end  excited  a  very  great 
and    General   lamentation.     If   the   foolish   ravinsfs   of  sir 
Thomas  Urquhart  are   to  be  credited,  the  whole  court  of 
Mantua  went  three  quarters  of  a  year  into  mourning  for 
him  ;  the  epitaphs  and  elegies  that  were  composed  upon 
his  death,  and   stuck   upon   his   hearse,   would   exceed,  if 
Ci)llected,  the   bulk  of  Homer's  works ;    and,  for   a   long 
time  afterwards,  his   picture  was  to  be  seen  in  most  of  the 
bed-chambers  and  galleries  of  the  Italian  nobilit}',   repre- 
senting him  on  horseback,   with  a  lance  in  one  hand  and  a 
book  in    the    other.     From   all  this  wonderful  account  we 
can  only  infe.-,  with  any  degree  of  confidence,   that  Crich- 
ton was  a  youth  of  such  lively  parts  as  excited    great  pre- 
sent admiration,  and  high  expectations  with  regard   to  his 
future  attainments.     He  appears  to  have  had  a  fine  person, 
to  have  been  adroit  in  his   bodily  exercises,  to  have  pos- 
sessed a  peculiar  facility  in  learning  languages,  to  have 
enjoyed  a  rt-markably  quick  and  retentive  memory,  and  to 
have  excelled   in   a  power   of  declamation,   a  fluency   of 
speech,  and  a  readiness  of  reply.      His  knowledge  likewise 
was  probably  very  uncommon   for  his  years;  and  this,  in 
conjunction   with  his  other  qualities,  enabled  him  to  shine 
in  public  disputation.    But  whether  his  knowledge  were  ac- 
curate or  profound,   may  justly  be  questioned;  and  it  may 
equally    be  doubted   whether  he  would  have  arisen  to  any 
extraordinary   degree  of  eminence  in    the  literary  world, 
which,  however,  his   early  and   untimely  death   prevented 
from  being  brought  to  the  test  of  experiment.  * 

CRIGHTON,  or  CREIGHTON  (Robert),  bishop  of 
Bath  and  Wells,  was  born  of  an  ancient  family  at  Dunkeld, 
in  Scotland,  in  1593,  and  was  educated  at  Westminster 
school,  wiience  in  1613  he  was  elected  to  Trinity  college, 

'  Biop.   Brit,  principally  from  a  MS.  drawn  up  by  the  earl  of  Buchan.— 

Miickenzie's  Scots  Writers,  &c.  &.c. 


10  C  R  I  G  H  T  O  N. 

Cambridge,  where  he  took  his  degrees  in  arts,  and  was 
chosen  Greek  professor,  and  university  orator.  In  1632 
he  was  made  treasurer  of  the  cathedral  of  Wells,  and  was 
also  canon  residentiary,  prebendary  of  Taunton,  and  had  a 
living  in  Somersetshire.  In  1637  he  was  admitted  to  the 
degree  of  D.  D.  and,  as  reported,  was  made  dean  of  St. 
Burian,  in  Cornwall,  but  this  seems  doubtful.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  rebellion,  Dr.  Crighton's  loyalty  en- 
dangered his  person  and  propert}',  and  to  save  the  former 
lie  joined  the  king's  troops  at  Oxford,  But  from  this  place 
he  was  obliged  afterwards  to  escape  into  Cornwall,  in  the 
dress  of  a  day-labourer,  and  contrived  to  go  to  Charles  II. 
abroad,  who  employed  him  as  his  chaplain,  and  bestowed 
on  him  the  deanery  of  Wells,  of  which  he  took  possession 
at  the  restoration.  In  1670  he  was  promoted  to  the  bishop- 
ric of  Bath  and  Wells,  which  he  held  until  his  death  Nov. 
21,  1672.  He  was  accounted  a  man  of  much  learning,  and 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  a  preacher,  reproved  the 
vices  of  the  court  with  great  boldness  and  plainness.  His 
only  publication  was  a  translation  from  Greek  into  Latin,  of 
Sylvester  Syguropolus's  history  of  the  council  of  Florence, 
Hague,  1660,  fol.  which  was  animadverted  upon  by  Leo 
Allatius,  to  whom  the  bishop  wrote  an  answer.  Wood  says 
he  has  some  sermons  in  print.  His  son,  who  was  chanter 
of  Wells,  published  a  volume  of  Sermons  in  1720.  * 

CRILLON  (Louis  de  Berthon  de),  of  an  illustrious 
family  of  Italy,  established  in  the  comtat  Venais^in,  knight 
of  Malta,  and  one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  his  age,  was 
born  in  1541,  and  entered  into  the  service  in  1557.  At 
the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  at  the  siege  of  Calais,  and  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  taking  of  that  place,  by  a  brilliant 
action  that  brought  him  to  the  notice  of  Henry  II.  He 
afterwards  signalized  himself  aj^ainst  the  <Hu<)[uenots,  or 
protestants,  at  the  battles  of  Dreux,  of  Jarnac,  and  of 
Moncontour,  in  1562,  1568,  and  1569.  The  youthful  hero 
so  greatly  distinguished  himself  in  his  caravans,  especially 
at  the  battle  of  Lepanto  in  1571,  that  he  was  made  choice 
of,  though  wounded,  to  carry  the  news  of  the  victory  to 
the  pope  and  to  the  king  of  France.  We  find  him  two 
years  afterwards,  in  1573,  at  the  siege  of  la  Rochelle,  and 
in  almost  all  the  other  considerable  rencontres  of  that  pe- 

1  Wood's  Fasti,  vol.   I.   and    II. — 'Salmon's   Live*  of  the  English  Bishops,— 
Walker's  Sufferings  of  the  Clergy. — fiarwiuk's  Life,  p.  400. 


C  R  I  L  L  O  N.  II 

riod.     He  every  where  shewed  himself  worthy  of  the  name 
usually   given    hiiu   by    Henry  IV.   of   the  Brave    Crillon. 
Henry  HI.  who  was  well  acquainted  with  his  valour,   made 
him  icnight  of  his  orders  in  1585.     The  specious  pretences 
of  the  leagne,   the  mask  of  religion  which  it  put  on,  could 
never  shake  the  fidelity  of  the  brave  Crillon,  however  great 
his  antipathy  to   the  Huguenots.      He  rendered   important 
services  to   his  prince   in   the  affair  of  the  Barricades,  at 
Tours,   and  elsewhere.      Henry  HI.  ventured  to  propose  to 
Crillon  to  assassinate  the  duke  de  Guise,  a  rebellious  sub- 
ject whom   he  was  afraid  to  put  to  death  by  the  sword  of 
the   law.      Crillon    oftered  to  tight  him  ;  but  disdained  to 
hear  of    assassination.     When   Henry  IV.   had  made   the 
conquest  of  his  kingdom,   Crillon  was  as  faithful  to  him  as 
he  had  been  to  his  predecessor.      He  repulsed  the  leaguers 
before   Boulogne.     The  army  of  Villars   having  invested 
Villeboeuf  in   1592,    he  vigorously   defended    that    place, 
replying  to  the  besiegers,  on  their  summoning  the  besieged 
to  surrender,  *'  Crillon  is  within,  and  the  enemy  without." 
Henry,   however,  did  but  little  for  him;   *'  because,"  said 
he,   "  I  was  sure  of  the   brave  Crillon;  and  I  had  to  <rain 
over  my   persecutors."     The  peace  of  Vervins  having  put 
ail  end  to  the  wars  that  had  troubled   Europe,  Crillon   re- 
tired to  Avignon,  and  there  died,  in  the  exercises  of  piety 
and   penance,  the   2d   of  December  1615,  at  the   age   of 
seventy-four.      Francis  Bening,  a  Jesuit,  pronounced  the 
discourse  at  his  funeral :  a  piece  of  burlesque  eloquence, 
printed  in  1616,  under  the  title  of  "  Boucher  d'Houneur," 
the   "  Buckler  of  Honour,"   and  reprinted   not  many  years 
since,   as  a  specimen  of  ridiculous  jargon,      Mademoiselle 
de  Lusson  published  in  2  vols.  12mo,  1757,  the  life  of  this 
hero,   called  by  his  contemporaries  I'homme  sans  peur  (the 
man  without  fear),  le  brave  des  braves  (the  bravest  of  the 
brave).     This  was  translated  into  English  by  Miss  Lomax, 
of  Hertfordshire,  and  after  being  revised  by  Richardson, 
the  author  of  Clarissa,   was  published  at  London,  1760,  2 
vols.  12mo.      Crillon  appears  to   have  been  a  second  che- 
valier  Bayard,  not  on  account   of  his  fantastic  and  sullen 
humour,  but   from  the  excellence  of  his  heart  and  his  at- 
tachment to  religion.      It  is  well  known  that  being  present 
one  day  at  a  sermon  on  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  when   the 
preacher  was  come  to  the  description  of  the  flagellation, 
Crillon,  seized  with  a   sudden   fit  of  enthusiasm,  put  his 
hand  to  his  sword,  crying  out,  "  Where  wert  thou,  Cril- 


12  C  R  I  L  L  O  N. 

Ion  ?"  These  sallies  of  courage,  the  effect  of  an  exuberant 
vivacity  of  temper,  engaged  him  too  frequently  in  duels, 
in  which  he  ahva3s  came  off  with  honour.     Two  instances 
are  recorded  of  an  intrepidity  highly  characteristic  of  Cril- 
lon.     At  the  battle  of  Moncontour  in  1569,  a  Huguenot 
soldier   thought   to    serve    his    party    by   dispatching   the 
bravest  and  most  formidable  of  the  catholic  generals.     In 
this  view  he  repaired  to  a  place  where  Crillon,  in  his  re- 
turn  from  pursuing  the   fugitives,   must  necessarily  pass. 
The  soldier  no  sooner  perceived  him  than  he  drew  the 
trigger  of  his  piece.     Crillon,  though  severely  wounded  in 
the  arm,  ran  up  to  the  assassin,  laid  hold  on  him,  and  was 
instantly  going  to  thrust  him  through  with  his  sword,  when 
the  soldier   threw  himself  at  his  feet  and  begged  his  life. 
*'  I  grant  it  thee,"   said  Crillon  ;   "  and  if  any  faith  could 
be  put  in  a  man  that  is  at  once  a  rebel  to  his  king,  and  an 
apostate   to    his  religion,   I   would  put  thee  on  thy  parole 
never  to  bear  arms  but  in  the  service  of  thy  sovereign." 
The  soldier,  confounded  at  this  act  of  magnanimity,  swore 
that  he  would  for  ever  shake  off  all  correspondence  with 
the  rebels,  and  return  to  the  catholic  religion. — The  young 
duke  of  Guise,  to  whom  Henry  IV.  had  sent  him   at  Mar- 
seilles, was  desirous  of  trying  how  far   the  fortitude  of 
Crillon  would   go.     In  this  design  he  caused  the  alarm  to 
be  sounded  before  the  quarters  of  his  brave  commander, 
and  two  horses  to  be  led  to  his  door.     Then,   running  up 
to  his   apartments,  pretended  that   the  enemy  was  master 
of  the   port  and  town,  and  proposed  to  him  to  make  his 
escape,   that  he  might  not  swell  the  triumph  of  the  con- 
querors.    Though  Crillon  was  hardly  well  awake  when  he 
heard   these  tidings,   he   snatched  up  his  arms  without  the 
least   trepidation,   maintaining   that   it  was  better  to  die 
sword  in  hand,  than  survive  the  loss  of  the  place.     Guise, 
finding  it  impossible,  by  all  the  arguments  he  could  use,  to 
alter  his  resolution,  accompanied  him  out  of  the  chamber  ; 
but,  when   they  were   about   the  middle  of  the  stairs,  he 
burst  out  into  a  violent  laughter,  which  plainly  discovered 
the  trick  to  Crillon.      He  then  put  on  a  graver  countenance 
than  when  he  thought  he  was  going  to  fight ;  and  griping 
the  duke  of  Guise  by  the  hand,  he  said,  with  an  oath,  ac- 
cording to  his  custom,   "  Young  man,  never  again  amuse 
thyself  with  putting  to  the  test  the  heart  of  an  honest  man. 
Par  la  mort !  if  thou  hadst  found  me  weak,   I  would  have 
poignarded  thee  !"     After  these  words  he  retired  without 


C  R  I  L  L  O  N.  13 

saying  any  thing  more. — We  will  conclude  with  the  la- 
conic billet  written  to  him  from  the  field  of  battle  by  Henry 
IV.  after  the  victory  of  Arques,  where  Crillon  was  unable 
to  be  present :  "  Hang  thyself,  Crillon  !  We  have  been 
fighting  at  Arques,  and  thou  wert  not  there.  Adieu,  brave 
Crillon  !   I  love  thee  whether  riti,iit  or  wrong."' 

CRINESIUS  (CHRlsTOPiiEK),  a  learned  Bohemian, 
was  born  at  Schlackovvald,  in  1584,  and  after  receiving  the 
first  rudiments  of  education  at  home,  was  sent  in  1603, 
fust  to  Jena,  and  afterwards  to  Wittemberg,  where  he 
studied  divinity,  philosophy,  and  the  learned  languages, 
in  which  last,  particularly  the  oriental  languages,  he  be- 
came critically  skilled.  He  also  taught  the  oriental  lan- 
guages at  Wittemberg,  published  several  critical  works, 
which  were  highly  esteemed,  and  had  for  his  pupils  many 
young  men  v.ho  were  afterwards  authors  of  great  name. 
His  reputation  extending  to  Austria,  he  was  invited  in 
1614  to  become  pastor  at  Geschwend,  where  he  rem.ained 
five  years,  until  he  was  induced  to  accept  the  pastoral  of- 
fice at  Muhlgrub,  the  residence  of  a  nobleman  named 
Fenzelius,  who  offered  him  the  situation,  with  a  liberal 
income ;  and  here,  probably,  he  would  have  spent  his 
days,  had  not  Ferdinand  II,  banished  all  Lutheran  preachers 
and  teachers,  which  obliged  him  to  go  to  Ratisbon,  and 
afterwards  to  Nuremberg.  He  was  then  made  professor  of 
divinity  at  Altdorff,  which  he  enjoyed  only  four  years, 
dying  there,  of  what  his  biographers  call  the  falling  sick- 
ness, (comitialis  morbus),  Aug.  28,  1629.  His  principal 
works  are,  1.  "A  Dissertation  on  the  Confusion  of 
Tongues."  2.  "  Exercitationes  Hebraicae."  3.  "  Gym- 
nasium &  Lexicon  Syriacum,"  2  vols.  4to.  4.  "  Lingua 
Samaritica,"  4to.  5.  '*  Grammatica  Chaldaica,"  4to. 
6.  "  De  auctoritate  verbi  divini  in  Hebraico  codice,"  Am- 
sterdam,   1664,  in  4to,   &c.'^ 

CRINITUS  (Peter),  or  more  properly  Peter  Riccr, 
an  Italian  scholar,  whose  memory  Mr.  Roscoe  has  rescued 
from  the  misrepresentations  of  his  biographers,  was  de- 
scended from  the  noble  family  of  the  Ricci,  of  Floreuce, 
and,  when  young,  was  instructed  by,  and  obtained  the 
friendship  of  Politian.  He  afterwards  became  an  associate 
in  the  literary  and  convivial  meetings  at  the  palace  of  the 

1  Moreri.— Diet.  Hist. — Life  and  Heroic  Actions,  1760,  2  vols.  12mo. 
iJorn's  £ffigtes  Virorutn,  voL  I. — Freheri  Theatnim. 


14  C  R  I  N  I  T  U  S. 

Medici  at  Florence,  and  after  the  death  of  Lorenzo  still 
continued  to  enjoy  the  society  of  Picns  and  Politian  till 
the  death  of  these  distinguished  scholars,  in  1494.  After 
this  it  is  probable  that  he  quitted  his  native  place,  and  took 
an  active  part  in  the  political  commotions  which  soon  oc- 
curred, as  he  frequently  refers  in  his  writings  to  the  la- 
bours and  misfortunes  which  he  sustained,  and  avows  his 
determination  to  return  to  his  literary  studies.  Some  part 
of  his  time  he  appears  to  have  passed  at  Naples,  and  at 
Ferrara.  He  died,  according  to  Negri,  about  the  close  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine  years ;  but 
his  writings  refer  to  many  events  beyond  that  period  ;  and 
his  dedication  of  his  treatise  "  De  Poetis  Latinis"  to  Cosmo 
de  Pazzi,  is  dated  in  1505,  which  period,  it  is  probable, 
he  did  not  lontr  survive.  His  death  was  the  issue  of  a  lon<T 
sickness,  on  which  he  wrote  a  beautiful  and  pathetic  Laiin 
ode,  from  which  we  learn  that  he  resigned  himself  to  his 
untimely  fate,  at  the  same  time  asserting  his  claim  to  the 
esteem  of  posterity  from  the  integrity  of  his  life  and  con- 
duct. The  principal  work  of  Crinifus,  *'  De  Honesta  Dis- 
ciplina,"  as  well  as  bis  treatise  on  the  Latin  poets,  before 
mentioned,  Paris,  1520,  fol.  demonstrates  the  extent  of 
his  learning,  and  the  accuracy  of  his  critical  taste.  His 
poetry,  all  of  which  is  in  the  Latin  language,  is  also  en- 
titled to  commendation,  and  is  frequently  introduced  by 
Mr.  Roscoe,  as  illustrating  the  public  transactions  of  the 
times  in  which  he  lived.' 

CIIISPE  (Sir  Nicholas),  an  eminent  and  loyal  citizen 
in  the  reigns  of  king  Charles  the  First,  and  king  Charles 
the  Second,  the  son  of  a  very  eminent  merchant  of  Lon- 
don, was  born  in  1598,  and  bred,  according  to  the  custom 
of  those  times,  in  a  thorough  knowledge  of  business, 
though  heir  to  a  oreat  estate.  He  made  a  consider- 
able  addition  to  this  by  marriage  ;  and  being  a  man  of  an 
enterprizing  genius,  ever  active  and  solicitous  about  new 
inventions  and  discoveries,  was  soon  taken  notice  of  at 
court,  was  knighted,  and  became  one  of  the  farmers  of 
the  king's  customs.  When  the  trade  to  Guinea  was  under 
great  difficulties  and  discouragements,  he  framed  a  project 
for  retrieving  it,  which  required  a  large  ca|)ital,  but  his 
reputation  was  so  great,  that  many  rich  merchants  willingly 
engaged  with  him  in  the  prosecution  of  the  design ;  and  to 

*  Roscoe's  Leo. — Gresswell's  Politian. — Moreri. — Saxii  Onomasticon. 


C  R  I  S  P  E.  15 

give  a  good  example,  as  well  as  to  shew  that  he  meant  to  ad- 
here to  the  work  tliat  he  had  once  taken  in  hand,  he  caused 
the  castle  of  Cormantyn  upon  the  Gold  Coast,  to  be  erected 
at  his  own  expence.  By  this  judicious  precaution^,  and  by 
his  wise  and  wary  managemeiit  afterwards,  himself  and  his 
associates  carried  their  trade  so  successfully,  as  to  divide 
amongst  them  fifty  thousand  pounds  a  year.  When  the 
rebellion  began,  and  the  king  was  in  want  of  nionev,  sir 
Nicholas  Crispe,  and  his  partners  in  the  farming  of  the 
customs,  upon  very  short  warning,  and  when  their  re- 
fusing it  would  have  been  esteemed  a  merit  with  the  par- 
liament, raised  him  one  hundred  tliousand  pounds  at  once*. 
After  the  war  broke  out,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  the  dis- 
tractions with  which  it  was  attended,  he  continued  to  carry 
on  a  trade  to  Holland,  France,  Spain,^  Italy,  Norway, 
INIoscovy,  and  Turkey,  which  produced  to  the  king  nearly" 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year,  besides  keeping 
most  of  the  ports  open  and  ships  in  them  constantly  ready 
for  his  service.  All  the  correspondence  and  supplies  of 
arms  which  were  procured  by  the  queen  in  Holland,  and 
by  the  king's  agents  in  Denmark,  were  consigned  to  his 
care,  and  by  his  prudence  and  vigilance  safely  landed  in 
the  north,  and  put  into  the  hands  of  those  for  whom  they 
were  intended.  In  the  management  of  so  many  nice  and 
difficult  affairs,  he  was  obliged  to  keep  up  a  very  extensive 
correspondence,    for  which  he  hardly  ever  made   use  of 

*  It  will  not,  we  hope,  lessen  the  like  sum.  "  Well,"  said  sir  Abraham, 
value  of  the  liberal  ))atriotism  of  the  "  this  Ihen  is  the  wor?!:  that  can  hap- 
present  race  of  London  citizens,  when  pen,  and  1  bless  GotI,  who  has  made 
they  are  told,  that  tlieir  exertions  and  uic  able  to  pay  my  allegiance,  and  to 
privations  during  the  present  disa^trous  p:iy  for  it."  Something  of  the  same 
war,  are  not  without  a  precedent,  kind  was  insinuated  to  sir  John  Jacob, 
Tlie  partners  of  sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  who  was  not  only  very  sincerely  loyal, 
mentioned  above,  were  sir  Abraham  but  a  man  of  a  warm  temper  and  a 
Dawes,  sir  John  Jacob,  and  sir  John  tender  heart.  "  What,"  said  he  iii 
Wohitenliolme.  When  the  matter  was  reply,  "  shall  I  keep  my  estate,  and 
proposed  to  sir  Nicholas,  he  said,  ''it  seethe  kinjr  want  wherewithal  to  pro- 
was  a  large  sum,  and  short  warning; ;  tect  me  in  it  ?  If  it  please  (lod  to  bless 
but  that  Providence  had  made  him  the  kln^,  though  I  give  him  all  I  have, 
able,  and  his  duty  made  him  willing,  I  shall  be  no  loser;  if  not,  thoug;h  I 
to  lay  down  his  proportion,  whenever  keep  all  I  have,  I  shall  be  no  saver." 
his  majesty  called  for  it."  Sir  .\bra-  Sir  John  Wolstenholnae,  a  stout  and 
ham  Dawes  had  some  relations,  whose  plain  man,  advanced  his  proportion, 
affections  leaned  to  the  republican  as  he  afterwards  did  larger  sums,  wiih- 
party,  and  who  besides  had  Kreat  ex-  out  any  speeches.  He  and  sir  Nicholas 
pectations  from  him  :  they  magnified  Crispe,  lived  to  see  the  restoration, 
the  sum  that  was  desired,  the  uncer-  and  to  be  farmers  of  the  customs  again 
tainty  of  its  being  repaid,  and  the  under  king  Charles  the  Second,  after 
danger  that  it  would  be  taken  ill  by  they  and  the  rest  had  paid  deeply  for 
parlumeat,  who  nii^bt  insist  npon  the  tUis  progf  of  iheir  loyalty. 


16  C  R  I  S  P  E. 

cypher,  but  penned  his  letters  in  such  a  peculiar  style,  as 
removed  entirely  his  intentions  iroin   the  apprehension  of 
his  enemies,  and  yet  lelt  them  very  intelligible  unto  those 
with  whom   he  transacted.      He  had  also   great  address  in 
bringing  any  thing  to  bear  that  he  had  once  contrived,  to 
which  it  contributed  not  a  little,  that  in  matters  of  secrecy 
and  danger  he  seldom  trusted  to  any  hands  but  his  own, 
and  made  use  of  all  kinds  of  disguises.      Sometimes,  when 
he  was  believed  to  be  in  one  place,  he  was  actually  at  ano- 
ther ;  letters  of  consequence  he  carried  in  the  disguise  of 
a  porter  ;  when  he  wanted  intelligence  he  would  be  at  the 
water  side,  with  a  basket  of  flounders  upon  his  head,  and 
often  passed   between   London  and  Oxford  in  the  dress  of 
a  butter-woman  on  horseback,   between  a  pair  of  panniers. 
He  was  the  principal  author  of  a  well-laid  design  for  pub- 
lishiiinj  the  king's  commission  of  array  at  London,  in  which 
there  was  nothing   dishonourable,    so  far  as   sir  Nicholas 
Crispe  was  concerned,  which,  however.   Clarendon  inad- 
vertently confounds  with  another  design,  superinduced  by 
Mr.    Waller,    of  surprizing   the   parliament,    in    bringing 
which  to   bear   he  proceeded  very  vigorously  at  first,  till, 
finding  that  he  had  engaged  in  a  matter  too  big  for  his 
management,  he  suddenly  lost  his  spirits,  and  some  of  the 
chief  men  in   the  house  of  commons  gaining  intelligence 
that  something  was  in   agitation  to   their  prejudice.   May 
31st,    1643,  they  presently  seized   Mr.  Waller,  and   drew 
from  him   a  complete  discover}^  which,  from  the  account 
they  published,   plainly  distinguished   these  two  projects. 
By    the    discovery  of  this   business,  sir   Nicholas   Crispe 
found  himself  obliged  to    declare   openly  the  course   he 
meant  to  take ;  and  having  at  his  own   expence   raised   a 
regiment  of  horse  for  the  king's  service,  he  distinguished 
himself  at  the  head  of  it  as  remarkably  in  his  military,  as 
he  had  ever  done  in   his   civil  capacity.     When  the  siege 
of  Gloucester  was  resolved   on,  sir  Nicholas   Crispe   was 
charged  with  his  regiment  of  horse  to  escort  the   king's 
train  of  artillery  from  Oxford,  which  important  service  he 
very  gallantly  performed  ;  but  in  the  month  of  September 
following,  a  very  unlucky  accident  occurred,  and   though 
the  circumstances  attending  it  clearly  justified  his  conduct 
to  the  world,  yet  the  concern   it   gave  him  was  such  as  he 
could  not  shake  off  so  long  as   he  lived.      He  happened  to 
be  quartered  at  Rouslidge,   in  Gloucestershire,  where  one 
sir  James  Ennyon,  bart.  of  Northamptonshire,  and  some 


C  R  I  S  P  E.  17 

friends  of  his  took  up  a  great  jinrt  of  tlic  house,  though 
none  of  them  iiad  any  commands  in  the  army,  which,  how- 
ever, sir  Nicholas  hore  with  the  utmost  patience,  notwith- 
standing he  was  much  incommoded  by  it.  Some  time 
after,  certain  horses  belonging  to  those  gentlemen  were 
missing,  and  sir  James  Ennyon,  though  he  had  lost  none 
himself,  insinuating  that  some  of  sir  Nicholas's  troopers 
must  have  taken  them,  insisted  that  he  should  immediately 
draw  out  his  regiment,  that  search  might  be  made  for 
them.  Sir  Nicholas  answered  him  with  mildness,  and  offered 
him  as  full  satisfaction  as  it  was  in  his  power  to  give,  but 
excused  himself  from  drawingr  out  his  regiment,  as  a  thing- 
improper  and  inconvenient  at  that  juncture,  for  reasons 
which  he  assigned.  Not  content,  however,  sir  James  left 
him  abruptly,  and  presently  after  sent  him  a  challenge, 
accompanied  with  a  message  to  this  effect,  that  if  he  did 
not  comply  with  it,  he  would  pistol  him  against  the  wall. 
Upon  this,  sir  Nicholas  Crispe  taking  a  friend  of  his  with 
him,  went  to  the  place  appointed,  and  finding  sir  James 
Ennyon  and  the  person  who  brought  him  the  challenge, 
sir  Nicholas  used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  pacify  him;  but 
he  l)eing  determined  to  receive  no  satisfaction,  unless 
by  the  sword,  they  engaged,  and  sir  James  received  a 
wound  in  the  rim  of  the  belly,  of  which  he  died  in  two 
days.  Before  this,  however,  he  sent  for  sir  Nicholas 
Crispe,  and  was  sincerely  reconciled  to  him.  Upon  the 
2d  of  October  following,  sir  Nicholas  was  brought  to  a 
court-martial  for  this  unfortunate  affair,  and  upon  a  full 
examination  of  every  thing  relating  to  it,  was  most  honour- 
ably acquitted.  He  continued  to  serve  with  the  same  zeal 
and  fidelity  during  1644,  and  in  the  spring  following;  but 
when  the  treaty  of  Uxbridge  commenced,  the  parliament 
thought  fit  to  mark  him,  as  they  afterwards  did  in  the  Isle 
of  Wight  treaty,  by  insisting  that  he  should  be  removed 
from  his  majesty's  presence  ;  and  a  few  months  after,  on 
April  16th,  1645,  they  ordered  his  large  house  in  Bread- 
street  to  be  sold,  which  for  many  years  belonged  to  his 
family.  Neither  was  this  stroke  of  their  vengeance  judged 
a  sufficient  punishment  for  his  offences,  since  having  re- 
solved to  grant  the  elector  palatine  a  pension  of  eight 
thousand  pounds  a  year,  they  directed  that  two  thousand 
should  be  applied  out  of  the  king's  revenue,  and  the  re- 
mainder ipade  up  out  of  the  estates  of  lord  Culpeper  and 
gir  Nicholas  Crispe,  Sir  Nicholas  finding  himself  no  longer 
Vol..  XL  C 


18  C  R  I  S  P  E. 

in  a  capacity  to  render  his  majesty  any  service,  thought  it  ex- 
pedient to  preserve  himself ;  and  in  April  1646  embarked 
vvitli  lord  Cnlpeper  and  colonel  Monk  for  France,  but  as  he 
liad  many  rich  relations  who  had  interest  witlj  those  in  power, 
they  interposed  in  his  favour;  and  as  sir  Nicholas  perceived 
that  he  could  he  of  no  service  to  the  royal  cause  abroad,  he 
did  not  look  upon  it  as  any  deviation  from  his  duty,  to  return 
and  live  quietly  at  home.  Accordingly,  having  submitted  to 
a  composition,  he  came  back  to  London,  to  retrieve  his  shat- 
tered fortunes,  and  very  soon  engaged  again  in  husiness, 
with  the  same  spirit  and  success  as  before.  In  this  season  ot 
prosperity  he  was  notfinmindful  of  the  wants  of  Charles  II. 
but  contributed  cheerfully  to  his  relief,  when  his  affairs 
seemed  to  be  in  the  most  desperate  condition.  After  the 
death  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  he  was  instrumental  in  recon- 
ciling many  to  their  duty,  and  so  well  were  his  principles 
known,  and  so  much  his  influence  apprehended,  that  when 
it  was  proposed  that  the  royalists  in  and  about  London 
should  sign  an  instrument  signifying  their  inclination  to 
preserve  the  public  tranquillity,  he  was  called  upon,  and 
very  rea,dily  subscribed  it.  He  was  also  principally  con- 
cerned in  hringing  the  city  of  London,  in  her  corporate 
capacity,-  to  give  the  encouragement  that  was  requisite  to 
leave  general  Monk  without  any  difficulties  or  suspicion 
as  to  the  sincerity  and  unanimity  of  their  inclinations.  It 
was  therefore  very  natural,  after  reading  the  king's  letter 
and  declaration  in  common-council,  May  3d,  1660,  to 
think  of  sending  some  members  of  their  own  body  to  pre- 
sent their  duty  to  his  majesty;  and  having  appointed  nine 
aklennen  and  their  recorder,  they  added  sir  Nicholas 
Crispe,  with  several  other  worthy  persons,  to  the  com- 
mittee, that  the  king  might  receive  the  more  satisfaction 
from  their  sentiments  being  delivered  by  several  of  those 
who  had  suffered  deeply  in  his  own  and  in  his  father's 
cause.  His  majesty  accordingly  received  these  gentlemen 
very  graciously,  as  a  committee,  and  afterwards  testified 
to  them  separately  the  sense  he  had  of  their  past  services, 
and  upon  his  return,  sir  Nicholas  Crispe  and  sir  .John  Wol- 
stenholme,  were  re-instated  as  farmers  of  the  customs. 
Sir  Nicholas  was  now  in  years,  and  somewhat  infirm,  spent 
a  great  part  of  his  time  at  his  noble  country  seat  near 
Hammersmith,  where  he  was  in  some  measure  the  founder 
of  the  chapel,  and  having  an  opportunity  of  returning  the 
ebligaiion  he  had  received  from  some  of  his  relations,  he 


C  R  I  S  P  E.  19 

procured  for  them  that  indemnity  from  the  king,  gratis, 
for  which  he  had  so  dearly  paid  during  the  rebellion.  The 
last  testimony  he  received  of  his  royal  master's  favour,  was 
his  being  created  a  baronet,  April  IGtli,  1665,  which  he 
did  not  long  survive,  dying  February  26th,  the  next  year, 
in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  liis  age,  leaving  a  very  large 
estate  to  his  grandson,  sir  Nicholas  Crispe.  His  corpse 
was  interred  with  his  ancestors,  in  the  parish  church  of  St. 
Mildred,  in  Bread-street,  and  his  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  by  his  reverend  and  learned  kinsman  Mr,  Crispe, 
of  Christ-church,  Oxford.  But  his  heart  was  sent  to  the 
chapel  at  Hammersmith,  where  there  is  a  short  and  plain 
inscription  upon  a  cenotaph  erected  to  his  memory  ;  or 
rather  upon  that  monument  which  himself  erected  in  grate- 
ful commemoration  of  king  Charles  I.  as  the  inscription 
placed  there  in  sir  Nicholas's  life-time  tells  us,  under 
which,  after  his  decease,  was  placed  a  small  white  marble 
urn,   upon  a  black  pedestal,  containing  his  heart.* 

CRISP  (ToiUAS),  a  puritan  writer  of  considerable  emi« 
nence,  the  third  son  of  Ellis  Crisp,  esq.  an  alderman,  and 
probably  related  to  the  family  of  the  subject  of  the  pre- 
ceding article,  was  born  in  Bread-street,  London,  in  1600, 
and  educated  at  Eton-school.  He  afterwards  went  to  Cam- 
bridge, where  he  studied  until  he  took  his  degree  of  B.  A. 
and  was,  on  his  removal  to  Oxford,  "  for  the  accomplish- 
ment," says  Wood,  "  of  certain  parts  of  learning,"  incor- 
porated in  the  same  degree  as  a  member  of  Baliol-college, 
in  tlie  end  of  Feb.  1626,  and  the  degree  was  completed 
by  him  in  the  act  following,  July  1627.  In  this  year  he 
was  presented  to  the  rectory  of  Newington  Butts,  near 
Southwark,  but  enjoyed  the  living  only  a  few  months, 
being  removed  on  account  of  a  simoniacal  contract.  In 
the  same  year,  however,  he  became  rector  of  Brinkworth, 
in  Wiltshire,  and  a  few  years  after  proceeded  D.  D.  At 
Brinkworth  he  was  much  followed  for  his  edifying  manner 
of  preaching,  and  for  his  great  hospitality.  But  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  being  noted  among  those 
who  were  inclined  to  favour  the  republicans,  he  met  witk 
such  harsh  treatment  from  the  kino-'s  soldiers,  as  obliged 
him  to  repair  to  London,  where  his  preaching,  although 
at  first  acceptable,  was  soon  accused  of  leaning  to  Anti- 

*  Eiog.   Brit, — Lloyd's   Memoirs. — Lysons's  Environs,  vol.   II.    wi.h  a  fins 
portrait. 

C  2 


20  CRISP. 

nomianisnij  and  involved  him  with  many  of  his  brethren  irr 
a  controversy.  He  was  baited,  says  Wood,  by  fifty-tvro 
opponents,  in  a  grand  dispute  concerning  the  freeness  of 
the  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ;  and  by  this  encounter, 
which  was  eagerly  managed  on  his  part,  he  contracted  a 
disease  that  brought  him  to  his  grave.  This  disease,  com- 
municated by  infection,  and  probably  nowise  connected 
with  the  eagerness  of  his  dispute,  was  the  small-pox,  of 
which  lie  died  Feb,  27,  1642,  and  was  buried  in  the  family 
vault  in  St.  Mildred's,  Bread-street.  In  his  last  sickness, 
he  avowed  his  firm  adherence  in  the  doctrines  he  had 
preached.  The  dispute  mentioned  by  Wood,  was  pro- 
bably carried  on  in  person,  or  in  the  pulpit,  for  we  do  not 
find  that  he  published  any  thing  in  his  life-time  ;  but,  after 
his  death,  three  4to  volumes  of  his  sermons  were  printed 
by  his  son,  under  the  title  of  "  Christ  alone  exalted,"  con- 
taining in  all  forty-two  sermons.  When  they  appeared, 
we  are  told,  that  the  Westminster  assembly  proposed  to 
have  them  burnt ;  and  although  we  do  not  find  that  this  was 
done,  Flavel,  and  other  non-conformists,  endeavoured  to 
expose  the  danger  of  some  of  his  sentiments.  Here,  pro- 
babh",  the  controversy  might  have  rested,  had  not  his 
works  been  again  published  about  the  revolution,  by  one 
of  his  sons,  with  additions.  This  excited  a  new  contro- 
versy, confined  almost  entirely  to  the  dtssenters,  but  in 
which  some  of  the  most  eminent  of  that  body  took  a  part, 
and  carried  it  on  with  an  asperity  which  produced  consi- 
derable disunion.  In  particular  it  disturbed  the  harmony 
of  the  weekly  lecture  established  at  Pinners'-hall,  and  the 
congregation  mostly  inclining  to  Dr.  Crisp's  sentiments, 
the  minority  seceded,  and  began  a  weekly  lecture  at  Sal- 
ters'-hall.  The  principal  writers  in  this  controversy  were 
Williams,  Edwards,  Lorimer,  &c.  against  Crisp ;  and 
Chauncey,  Mather,  Lobb,  &.c.  for  him;  and  after  a  con- 
test of  seven  years,  they  rather  agreed  to  a  suspension  of 
liostilities  than  came  to  a  decision.  The  truth  appears  to 
have  been,  that  Crisp  was  extremely  unguarded  in  many 
of  his  expressions,  but  was  as  far  as  the  fiercest  of  his  an- 
tagonists from  intending  to  support  any  doctrine  that 
tended  to  licentiousness.  A  very  full  account  of  the  whole 
controversy  may  be  seen  in  the  last  of  our  authorities.* 

»  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  IT. — Lysons's  Environs,  vol.  I.— Bogue's  History  of  the  Drs- 
tenters,  vol,  I.  p.  399. 


CRISPIN.  21 

CRISPIN  (Gilbert),  abbot  of  Westminster  in  the 
iCleventli  and  twelfth  centuries,  was  born  in  Normand}^,  of 
a  considerable  family,  and  educated  in  the  monastery  of 
Bee,  under  Lan franc,  afterwards  archbishop  of  Canter- 
Jburj^,  who  was  then  prior  of  that  convent,  and  taught  the 
liberal  arts  with  great  reputation.  In  this  seminary  Cris- 
pin became  a  monk,  under  Anselm,  who  was  at  that  time 
abbot.  He  was  much  esteemed  by  both  these  eminent 
men,  the  former  of  whom,  after  his  advancement  to  the 
see  of  Canterbury,  sent  for  him  to  England,  and  made 
him  abbot  of  St.  Peter's,  Westminster,  and  Lanfranc 
parted  with  him  reluctantly,  and  continued  to  correspond 
with  him  as  long  as  he  lived.  Crispin  was  abbot  of  West- 
minster thirty-two  years,  during  which  he  was  sent  on  dif- 
ferent embassies  by  king  Henry  I.  Leland  says,  that  he 
was  some  time  at  Rome,  probably  on  some  ecclesiastical 
errand.  He  died  in  1117,  and  was  buried  in  the  south 
part  of  the  great  cloisters.  Leland,  Bale,  and  Pits,  who 
give  him  the  character  of  a  very  learned  and  pious  eccle- 
siastic, attribute  a  great  many  works  in  divinity  to  him,  of 
which  we  know  of  one  only  that  was  published,  "  De  fide 
ecclesiaj,  contra  Judaeos,"  Cologne,  1537,  and  Paris,  1678, 
with  Anselm's  works.  This  was  occasioned  by  a  disputa- 
tion which  he  held  with  a  very  learned  Jew  at  Mentz, 
whose  arguments,  with  his  own,  he  drew  up  in  the  form  of 
a  dialogue. ' 

CRISPIN,  or  CRESPIN  (John),  an  ingenious  printer 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  a  native  of  Arras,  was  ori- 
giually  clerk  to  Charles  du  Moulin,  and  admitted  advocate 
to  the  parliament  of  Paris;  but  afterwards,  forming  a 
friendship  with  Beza,  he  embraced  the  reformed  religion, 
and  retired  to  Geneva,  where  he  gained  great  reputation 
by  his  printing,  and  died  of  the  plague,  1572.  Crispiu 
was  author  of  a  Greek  Lexicon,  Geneva,  1562,  4to,  and 
reprinted  in  folio.  He  also  published  a  martyrology  under 
the  title  of  "  Histoire  des  vrais  temoings  de  la  verit^,  &c, 
depuivs  Jean  Hus,  jusqu'au  tems  present,"  ibid.  1570,  fol. 
and  reprinted  in  1582,  15iJ7,  and  1609.  Moreri  and  Fop- 
pen,  while  they  allo»v  Crispin's  merit  as  a  man  of  learning 
and  an  useful  and  accurate  printer,  cannot  forgive  him  for 
this  last  publication.'^ 

'  Loland. — Bale. — Pits. — Tanner. 

'^  ,Gen.  Diet.— Moieri.— Foppeii  Bibl,  Bel?. 


22  C  R  I  S  P  U  S. 

CRISPUS  (Anthony),  a  divine  and  physician,  was  born 
June  11,  1600,  at  Trapani,  a  town  in  Sicily,  and  received 
the  early  part  of  his  medical  education  under  his  father, 
whom  he  succeeded  in  his  practice,  and  became  one  of  the 
most  popular  physicians  of  his  time.  Some  j'ears  before 
his  deatii,  which  happened  in  1683,  he  united  the  office  of 
priest  to  that  of  physician,  and  retired  altogether  from 
business.  Among  his  publications  are:  "In  lethargum 
febri  supervenientem  acutse,  Commentarii  duo,"  Panorini, 
1668,  4to,  and  "  De  sputo  sanguinis  a  partibus  corporis 
infirmis,  supervenientis  cum  Tussi,  &c."  1682,  4to,  the 
practice  recommended  in  which  has  been  very  little  altered 
since  his  time.  He  wrote  also  a  treatise  on  the  cure  of 
infectious  fever  by  venisection  and  cathartics,  the  mode 
now  recommended  in  the  yellow  fever,  and  another  on  the 
most  celebrated  mineral  waters  of  the  island,  with  an  ex- 
amination of  their  constituent  parts. ' 

CRISPUS,  or  CRISPO  (John  Baptist),  an  Italian  di- 
vine and  poet,  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  born  at  Gal- 
lipoli,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  Having  entered  into 
the  church,  his  merit  procured  him  the  friendship  of  many 
of  tlie  most  learned  men  of  his  time,  and  particularly  of 
the  cardinal  Jerome  Seripando,  to  whom  he  was  for  some 
time  secretary ;  and  he  was  also  in  great  request  as  a  teacher 
of  jurisprudence,  philosophy,  and  theology.  He  died  about 
15D5,  at  the  time  when  pope  Clement  VIII.  intended  to 
have  promoted  him  to  a  bishopric.  His  principal  work  is 
a  piece  of  criticism,  much  admired  in  his  time,  "  De 
ethnicis  philosophis  caute  legendis,"  Rome,  1594,  folio. 
Crispus's  other  works  are  two  orations  concerning  the  war 
against  the  Turks,  printed  at  Rome  in  1594,  4to.  "  De 
JVIedici  Laudibus,  Oratio  ad  cives  suos  Gallipolitanos," 
Rome,  1591,  4to.  The  "  Life  of  Sannazarius,"  Rome, 
3  583,  reprinted  at  Naples  in  1633,  8vo.  A  draught  or 
map  of  the  city  of  Gallipoli,  dedicated  to  Flaminio  Carac- 
cioli  January  the  1st,  1591.  Some  of  his  Italian  poems 
are  in  a  collection  published  by  Scipio  de  Monti,  under 
the  title  "  Le  Rime,"  &c.  1585,  4to. "" 

CRITOPYLUS.     See  METROPHANES. 

CROCUS,  RICHARD.     See  CROKE. 

CROESE  (Gerard),  a  protestant  divine,  and  author  of 
a  "History  of  the  Quakers,"   was  born  at  Amsterdam  April 

*  Moreri.— -llaller. — Rees's  Cyclo])cctIia.  2  Gcu,  Diet. — Morerj. 


C  R  O  E  S  E.  23 

27,    1642.      He  was  partly  educated  there,  but  principally 
at  Leyden,  where   he  studied  polite  literature  uiidor  Gro- 
novius   and    Hornius,    and    divinity    under    Cocceius    and 
Hoornbek.     He  then  accompanied  the  son  of  admiral  de 
Ruyter  to  Smyrna,   and  on  his  i-eturn  came  to   Ensflancl, 
and  had  some  intention  of  residing  at  Norwich,   but  pre- 
ferring- his  own  country,  he  was  appointed  chaplain  to  the 
garrison  of  Ypres,  and  pastor  of  the  chmxh  of  Alblas  near 
Dort,  where  he  died  May  10,  1710.     His  principal  wori^ 
was   his  "  History  of   the    Quakers,"    entitled  "  Historia 
Quakeriana,"  Amst.  1695,  Svo,  and  translated  into  E'.ighsh 
1696.     It  does  not  appear  that  this  history  gave  much  sa- 
tisfaction to  tiie  sect,  and  it  is  certainly   very  inferior  to 
that  of  Sewell,  who  furnished  him  with  some  materials,   of 
which,  according-  to  Sevvell,   he  did  not  make  a  judicious 
use.      It  was  also  answered  by  a  quaker  at  Amsterdam,  in  a 
work  entitled   *'  Dilucidationes   cjucedam  value  necessarioe 
in  Gerardi  Croesii  Hist."  1696,   Svo.     Croese's  other  pub- 
lication,  a  singular  mixture   of  misapplied   learning   and 
fanciful   criticism,    is    entitled   '*  Homerus    Hebrosus,    sive 
Historia  Hebra^orum  ab   Homero,   Hebraicis  hominibus  ac 
sententiis  conscripta,  in  Odyssea  et  Iliade,  exposita  et   il- 
lustrata,"  Dort,  1704.     Perizonius,  and  after  him  Saxius, 
conceives  that  nothing  can  be  imagined   more  foolish  than 
this  book,  in  which  probably  our  readers  will  agree,  when 
they  are  told  that  his  object  is  to  prove  that  the  Odyssey 
contains  the   history   of  the  Jews  in   the  patriarchal  ages, 
and  the  Iliad  is  an  account  of  the  siege  and   capture   of 
Jericho.      Croese  left  also  some  dissertations.* 

CROFT  (Sir  Herbert),  the  son  of  Edward  Croft,  esq. 
of  a  very  ancient  family  at  Croft-castle  in  Herefordshire, 
was  educated  at  Christ-church,  Oxford,  and  became  a 
member  of  parliament  in  the  latter  end  of  queen  Elizabeth's 
reign.  On  the  accession  of  James  1.  he  wailed  on  him  at 
Theobalds,  and  his  majesty  being  informed  of  his  family 
and  personal  merits,  he  was  honoured  with  knighthood. 
After  he  had  lived  fifty-two  years  as  a  protestant,  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Roman  catholic  charch,  and  going 
over  to  Doway,  had  an  apartment  in  the  monastery,  of  the 
English  Benedictines,  and,  as  some  say,  became  a  lay 
brother  of  the  order.     After  residing  here  about  five  years 

1  Moreri.— Diet.  Hist.— Niceron.— Saxii  Onomast,— Preface  to  Sewell's  Hist, 
of  the  Quakers, 


2i  CROFT. 

he  died  April  10,  1622,  a  rare  example,  says  his  popish 
hiographer,  of  piety  and  resolution.  He  left  four  sons  : 
William,  also  knii^hted  and  a  colonel  in  the  civil  wars,  who 
was  killed  in  battle  in  1645  ;  James  and  Robert,  both  co- 
lonels; and  Herbert,  the  subject  of  the  following  article. 
He  wrote,  1.  "Letters  persuasive  to  his  wife  and  children,  to 
take  upon  them  the  Catholic  religion,"  Dovvay,  1619,  12mo. 
2.  *'  Arcfuments  to  show  that  the  church  in  communion 
with  the  see  of  Rome,  is  the  true  church  ;  against  Dr. 
Field's  four  books  of  the  church,"  1619.  3.  "  Reply  to 
the  answer  of  his  daughter  (Mary)  which  she  made  to  a 
paper  of  his,  sent  to  her  concerning  the  Roman  church," 
1619,  12mo,  25  5  pages.  This  must  be  a  very  rare  book 
if,  according  to  Wood,  eight  copies  only  were  printed.' 

CROFT  (Herbert),  an  eminent  prelate,  and  third  son 
of  the  preceding,  was  born  Oct.  18,  1603,  at  Great  Mil- 
ton near  Thame,  in  Oxfordshire,  in  the  house  of  sir  W^il- 
liam  Green,  his  iTiother  being  then  on  a  journey  to  Lon- 
don. In  his  thirteenth  year  he  was  sent  to  Oxford  ;  but 
upon  his  father's  embracing  the  popish  religion,  and  re- 
moving to  Dovvay,  he  was  taken  there,  and  after  some 
time  sent  to  the  English  college  of  Jesuits  at  St.  Omer's ; 
where  he  was  not  only  reconciled  to  the  church  of  Rome, 
but  persuaded  also  to  enter  into  the  order.  Some  time 
before  his  father's  death  in  1622,  he  was  sent  back  into 
England,  to  transact  some  family  affairs ;  and  becoming 
acquainted  with  Morton,  bishop  of  Durham,  he  was  by 
him  brought  back  to  the  church  of  Ensfland.  At  tlie  desire 
of  Dr.  Laud,  he  went  a  second  time  to  Oxford,  and  was 
admitted  a  student  of  Christ-church  ;  and  the  university 
generously  allowing  the  time  he  had  spent  abroad  to  be 
included  in  his  residence,  he  soon  after  took  the  degree  of 
B,  D.  entered  into  orders,  and  became  minister  of  a  church 
in  Gloucestershire,  and  rector  of  Harding  in  Oxfordshire. 
August  1639  he  was  collated  to  a  prebend  in  the  church  of 
Salisbury;  and  the  year  after  took  the  degree  of  D.  D. 
being  then  chaplain  in  ordinary  to  the  king.  The  same 
year  he  was  made  a  prebendary  of  Worcester,  and  the 
year  after  a  canon  of  Windsor.  In  1644  he  was  nominated 
dean  of  Hereford,  where  he  married  Mrs.  Anne  Brown, 
the  daughter  of  his  predecessor,  though  in  constant  peril 

'  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  I.— Djtld's  Cli.  Hist.— Biog.  Erit,  note  in  art,  Herbert  Cto&n 
^ishop. 


CROFT.  25 

of  liis  then  small  fortune,  and  sometimes  of  his  life.  He 
suffered  extremely  for  his  loyalty  to  Charles  I  ;  but  at 
length,  in  1659,  by  the  successive  deaths  of  his  two  elder 
brothers,  became  possessed  of  the  family-estate.  At  the 
restoration  he  was  reinstated  in  his  preferments ;  and  Dec. 
2,  1661,  promoted  to  the  see  of  Hereford,  which  he  never 
would  quit,  though  he  was  offered  a  better  see  more  than 
once.  He  became  afterwards,  about  1667,  dean  of  the 
•royal  chapel,  which  he  held  to  1669,  and  then  resigned  it; 
being  weary  of  a  court  life,  and  finding  but  small  effects 
from  his  pious  endeavours.  He  then  retired  to  his  diocese, 
where  he  lived  an  example  of  that  discipline  he  was  strict 
in  recommending  to  others;  and  was  much  beloved  for 
his  constant  preaching,  hospitable  temper,  and  extensive 
charity.  He  was  very  intent  upon  reforming  some  things 
in  the  church,  which  he  thought  abuses,  and  not  tendino- 
to  edification.  He  was  very  scrupulous  in  his  manner  of 
admitting  persons  into  orders,  and  more  especially  to  the 
priesthood  ;  and  he  refused  to  admit  any  prebendaries  into 
his  cathedral  church,  except  such  as  lived  within  his  diocese, 
that  the  duty  of  the  church  might  not  be  neglected,  and 
that  the  addition  of  a  prebend  might  be  a  comfortable  ad- 
dition to  a  small  living.  In  all  these  resolutions,  it  is  said, 
he  continued  inflexible. 

In  the  mean  time,  he  was  not  so  intent  upon  his  private 
concerns  in  his  diocese,  but  that  he  shewed  himself  ready- 
to  serve  the  public  as  often  as  he  thought  it  in  his  power. 
Accordingly,  in  1675,  when  the  quarrel  with  the  non-con- 
forniists  was  at  its  height,  and  the  breach  so  artfully  widened 
that  the  Roman  catholics  entertained  hopes  of  entering 
through  it,  he  published  a  piece,  entitled,  "  The  Naked 
Truth ;  or,  the  true  state  of  the  primitive  church,"  4to,  which 
was  printed  at  a  private  press,  and  addressed  to  the  lords 
and  commons  assembled  in  parliament.  This,  though  no 
more  than  a  small  pamphlet  of  four  or  five  sheets,  excited 
an  uncommon  degree  of  attention,  and  was  read  and 
studied  by  all  people  of  sense  and  learning  in  the  kingdom. 
The  author's  design  was  to  recommend  to  the  legislature 
measm-es  for  reconciling  the  differences  among  proiestants, 
and  for  securing  the  church  against  the  attempts  of  papists. 
He  begins  with  articles  of  faith  ;  and  having  shewn  the 
danger  of  imposing  more  than  are  necessary,  especially  as 
terms  of  communion,  he  proceeds  next  through  all  the 
^reat  points  in  dispute  between  the  church  of  England  and 


26  CROFT. 

those  that  dissent  from  her:  labouring  to  prove  through- 
out, that  protestants  dift'er  about  nothing  that  can  truly  be 
styled  essential  to  religion  ;  and  that,  for  the  sake  of  union, 
coujpliances  would  be  more  becoming,  as  well  as  more  ef- 
fectual, than  enforcing  uniformity  by  penalties  and  perse- 
cution. The  whole  is  written  with  the  best  intentions,  and 
with  great  force  of  argument :  nevertheless  it  was  attacked 
with  great  zeal  by  some  of  the  clergy,  particularly  by  Dr. 
Turner,  master  of  St,  John's  college  in  Cambridge,  in  his 
Animadversions  on  a  pamphlet  called  "  The  Naked  Truth ;" 
1676,  4to.  This  was  answered  by  Andrew  Marvell,  in  a 
piece,  entitled,  "  Mr.  8mirke,  or  the  Divine  in  Mode ;" 
in  which  after  descending,  as  the  title  shows,  to  personal 
ridicule,  he  says,  that  bishop  Croft's  work  is  a  treatise, 
which,  "  if  not  for  its  opposer,  needs  no  commendation, 
being  writ  with  that  evidence  and  demonstration  of  truth, 
that  all  sober  men  cannot  but  oive  their  assent  and  consent 
to  it  unasked.  It  is  a  book  of  that  kind,  that  no  Christian 
can  scarce  peruse  it,  without  wishing  himself  to  have  been 
the  author,  and  almost  imagining  tliat  he  is  so  :  the  con- 
ceptions therein  being  of  so  eternal  idea,  that  every  man 
finds  it  to  be  but  a  copy  of  .the  original  in  his  own  mind." 
Many  other  pamphlets  were  written  against  "  The  Naked 
Truth  ;"  but  the  author  did  not  vouchsafe  them  any  reply, 
and  it  continued  for  a  considerable  time  to  be  read  and  re- 
printed. 

Ill  is  was  the  first  thing  bishop  Croft  published,  except 
two  sermons  :  one  on  Isaiah  xxvii.  verse  last,  preached  be- 
fore the  house  of  lords  upon  the  fast-day,  Feb.  4,  1673  ; 
the  other  before  the  king  at  Whitehall,  April  12,  1674,  on 
Fhilipp.  i.  21.  In  1678  he  published  a  third  sermon, 
preached  Nov.  4,  at  the  cathedral  church  in  Hereford,  and 
entitled,  "  A  second  call  to  a  farther  Humiliation."  The 
year  after  he  published  "  A  Letter  written  to  a  friend  con- 
cerning po|)isli  idolatry  :"  and  also  a  second  impression, 
corrected,  with  additions,  of  his  "  Legacy  to  his  diocese  ; 
or  a  short  determination  of  all  controversies  we  have  with 
the  jiapists  by  God's  holy  word,"  4lo.  Besides  the  epistle 
to  all  the  people  within  his  diocese,  especially  those  of  the 
city  of  Hereford,  and  a  preface,  this  work  consists  of 
three  sermons  upon  John  v.  39.  "  Search  the  scriptures, 
for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  ;"  and  a  supple- 
ment, together  with  a  tract  concerning  the  holy  sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  promised  in  the  preface.     This  work 


CROFT.  27 

was  calculated  by  him  to  preserve  the  people  of  his  diocese 
from  the  snares  of  popish  missionaries,  who  were  tlien 
very  active  all  over  the  kingdom.  In  1685  he  published 
some  animadversions  on  a  book  entitled  "  The  Theory  of 
the  Earth  ;"  and  in  16S8,  "A  Short  Discourse  concerning 
the  reading  his  majesty's  lute  declaration  in  Churches," 
This,  which  was  the  last  employment  of  his  pen,  was 
shewn  by  a  certain  courtier  to  king  James ;  who  ordered 
so  much  of  the  discourse,  as  concerned  the  reading  of  the 
declaration,  to  be  published  to  the  world,  and  the  rest  to 
be  suppressed,  as  being  contrary  to  the  views  with  which 
that  declaration  had  been  set  forth.  It  is  remarkable  of 
this  excellent  prelate,  that  he  had  taken  a  resolution  some 
years  before  his  death,  of  resigning  his  bishopric ;  to  which, 
it  seems,  he  was  moved  by  some  scruples  of  conscience. 
His  motives  he  expressed  in  a  long  letter  to  Dr.  Stilling- 
fleet ;  who,  however,  in  an  answer,  persuaded  him  to  con- 
tinue his  episcopal  charge  with  his  usual  earnestness  and 
vigour.  He  died  at  his  palace  at  Hereford,  May  IS,  ICyi, 
and  was  buried  in  the  cathedral  there,  with  this  short  in- 
scription over  his  grave-stone  :  "  Depositum  Herberti 
Croft  de  Croft,  episcopi  Herefordensis,  qui  obiit  IS  die 
Mail  A.  D.  1691,  letatis  suae  SS  ;  in  vita  conjuncti :"  that 
is,  "  Here  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Herbert  Croft  of 
Croft,  bishop  of  Hereford,  who  died  May  18,  1691,  in 
the  88th  year  of  his  age  ;  in  life  united."  The  last  words, 
"  in  life  united,"  allude  to  his  lying  next  dean  Benson,  at 
the  bottom  of  whose  grave-stone  are  these,  "  in  morte  non 
divisi,"  that  is,  "  in  death  not  divided  :"  the  two  grave- 
stones having  hands  engraven  on  them,  reaching  from  one 
to  the  other,  and  joined  together,  to  signify  the  lastin<i- 
and  uninterrupted  friendship  which  subsisted  "between  these 
two  reverend  dignitaries. 

As  bishop  Croft  lived,  so  he  died,  without  the  least 
tincture  of  that  popery  which  he  had  contracted  in  his 
youth,  as  appears  clearly  enough  from  the  preamble  to  his 
will  :  "  I  do,"  says  he,  "  in  all  humble  manner  most 
heartily  thank  God,  that  he  hath  been  most  graciously 
pleased,  by  the  light  of  his  most  holy  gospel,  to  recall  me 
from  the  darkness  of  gross  errors  and  popish  superstitions, 
into  which  I  was  seduced  in  my  younger  days,  and  to  set- 
tle me  again  in  the  true  ancient  catholic  and  apostolic 
tuiih,  professed  by  our  church  of  England,  in  which  I  was 
born  and  baptized,  and  in  which  J  joyfully  die,"  &c.     He 


28  CROFT. 

had  one  only  son,  Herbert,  who  was  educated  in  Magda- 
len college,  Oxford,  was  created  baronet  by  Charles  II. 
Nov.  1671,  and  was  twice  knight  of  the  shire  in  the  reign 
of  king  William.  He  died  1720,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Archer,  and  he  by  his  son  and  namesake  in  1761, 
who  dying  in  1792,  without  male  issue,  the  title  descended 
to  the  rev.  Herbert  Croft,  a  gentleman  well  known  iu  the 
literary  world.  ^ 

CROFT  (William),  a  musician,  was  born  at  Nether- 
Eatington  in  Warwickshire,  about  1657.  He  was  educated 
in  the  royal  chapel  under  Dr.  Blow,  and  became  organist 
at  St.  Anne's,  Westminster.  In  1700  he  was  admitted  a 
gentleman-extraordinary  of  the  chapel  royal,  and  in  1704 
organist  of  the  same.  In  1708  he  succeeded  Dr.  Blow  as- 
master  of  the  cliildien,  and  composer  to  the  chapel  royal, 
and  also  as  organist  at  Westminster-abbey.  In  1712  he 
published,  but  without  his  name,  "  Divine  Harmony,  or  a 
new  collection  of  select  anthems  ;"  to  which  is  pretixed, 
*' A  brief  account  of  Church  Music."  In  1715  he  was 
created  doctor  in  music  at  Oxford  :  his  exercise  for  that 
deg'-ee  was  an  English  and  also  a  Latin  ode,  written  by 
Mr.  (afterwards  Dr.)  Joseph  Trapp,  which,  with  the  music, 
were  published  with  the  title  of  "  Musicus  apparatus  Aca- 
demicus."  In  1724  he  published  by  subscription  a  noble 
work  of  his  own,  entitled  "  Musica  Sacra,  or  Select  An- 
thems in  score,"  in  2  vols,  the  first  containing  the  burial 
service,  which  Purcell  had  begun,  but  lived  not  to  com- 
plete. He  died  Aug.  1727,  of  an  illness  occasioned  by 
attending  upon  his  duty  at  the  coronation  of  George  II ; 
and  there  is  a  monument  erected  for  him  in  Westminster- 
abbey,  by  his  friend  Humphrey  Wyrley  Birch,  esq.  a  gen- 
tleman of  the  bar,  of  a  whimsical  character,  and  extremely 
fond  of  funeral  music.  The  character  of  Croft's  musical 
compositions  is  given  in  our  authorities.^ 

CKOFTON  (Zachary),  a  non-conformist  divine,  of  the 
family  of  sir  Edward  Crofton,.was  born  in  Ireland,  and  for 
the  most  ))art  had  his  education  in  Dublin.  When  the 
Irish  troubles  broke  out,  he  came  over  to  England  ;  and 
having  but  one  groat  in  his  pocket,  he  spent  it  the  first 
night  at  his  quarters.  His  first  living  in  the  church  was  at 
Wrenbury  in  Cheshire,  from  whence   he  was  expelled  for 

'  Eiog.  Brit. — Ath.  Ox.  vo!.  II. — Salmon's  Lives  of  the  Bishops, 
2  Hawkins's  Hist,  of  Music. —  Burney's  Hist,  vol.  111. 


C  R  O  F  T  O  N.  29 

refusing  to  take  the  engagement,   1648.     He  then  came  to 
London,  and    aftei"   being   for  some    time   minister  at   St. 
James's  Garlike-liithe,  obtained  the  living  of  St.  Botolph's 
near   Aldgate,  where   he   continued   until  the  restoration, 
when  he  was  ejected  for  non-conformity.     Not  long  after 
he  entered  into  a  controversy  with  bishop  Gauden  con- 
cerning the  solenni  league  and  covenant,  for  his  defence  of 
which   he   was   imprisoned    in    the    Tower,    until    he    was 
obliged  to  petition  for  his  liberty.     He  afterwards  went 
into  Cheshire,   where  he  was  again  imprisoned  ;  but  ob- 
taining his  liberty,   took  a  small  farm,   or  as  Calamy  says, 
kept  a  grocer's  shop,  for  the  support  of  his  family.     In 
1667  he  returned   to   London,  and  tanght  a  school   near 
Aldgate,  where  he  died  about  1672.     He  published  a  great 
number  of  controversial  pamphlets,  and  some  sermons,   few 
of  which  have  outlived  their  day.      He  was  a  man  of  learn- 
ing, and  acuteness  in  controversy ;  but,  Calamy  allows,   of 
a  warm  and  hasty  temper.* 

CROIUS,  or  DE  CROI   (John),  a  learned  protestant 
clergyman  in  France,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  w^as  born 
at  Usez,  and  being  educated  to  the  church,  was  appointed 
pastor,  first  of  Beziers,  and  afterwards  of  Usez.     His  life 
appears  to  have  been  spent  in  the  exercise  of  his  duties  as 
a  clergyman,   and  in  writing  on  the  controversies  of  the 
times,  in  which  he  was  enabled  to  take  a  distinguished 
part,  being  a  man  of  extensive  learning,  a  critic,  and  an 
able  Oriental  scholar.      He  died  Aug.  31,  1659.     He  wrote 
many  controversial  pieces  in  French,  particularly  a  defence 
of  the  Geneva  confession  of  Faith,    1645,   8vo,  and   "  Au- 
gustin  suppose,"  &c.  proving  that  the  four  books  on  the 
creed  in  St.  Augustine's  works  are  not  the  production   of 
that  author ;  but  his  Latin  works  gained  him  greater  repu- 
tation, particularly  his  "  xSpecimen  Conjecturarum  in  quoe- 
dam    Origenis,   Ireneei,    et   Tertulliani   Loca,"    1632;  and 
*'  Observationes  Sacrre  et  Historicce  in  Nov.  Test."  chiefly 
against  Heinsius,  1644.^ 

CROIX  nu  Maine  (Francis  de  Grude'  la),  was  born 
in  the  province  of  Maine  in  1552.  He  was  sieur  or  lord  of 
the  manor  of  Croix  du  Maine,  and  of  Vieille  Cour,  four 
leagues  from  Mans;  From  his  youth  he  had  a  passionate 
inclination  for  learninor  and  books,  and  collected  so  lar<>-e 
a  library  at  the  university  in  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  and 

»  Calamy.  '  Gen.  Diet. — Saxii  Onomast, 


30  CROIX. 

most  European  languages,  that,  as  he  says  himself,  the 
catalogue  of  them  would  make  a  volume.  He  began  to 
make  this  collection  in  his  seventeenth  j-ear  ;  and  in  his 
thirty-second,  viz.  in  1584,  he  publi^hed  his  "  French 
Library,"  being  a  general  account  of  all  autho¥s  that  wrote 
in  that  language,  fol.  Of  this  we  shall  take  particular  no* 
tice  under  the  article  Verdikr.  In  J. 579  he  addressed  a 
discourse  to  viscount  de  Pauliny,  and  speaks  of  a  great 
many  works  wliich  he  had  written,  none  of  which,  however, 
are  known,  except  a  small  4to,  "  Desseins  ou  projets, 
&c.  pour  dresser  une  hibliotheque  parlaite,"  Paris,  1583, 
and  a  long  Latin  epitaph  on  the  poet  Monin,  who  was 
assassinated  at  Paris  in  1586,  a  fate  which  befell  himself 
at  Tours  in  1592.  ' 

CROIX.     See  PETIS. 

CROKE,  or  CROOK  (Sir  George),  the  third  son  of 
sir  John  Croke  of  Buckinghamshire,  was  born  at  Chilton 
in   that  county  in  1559,  and  educated  at  the  free  school  of 
Thame,  from   whence,  about   the  year  1576,   he  went  to 
Oxford,  and  became  a  commoner,  or  gentleman  commoner, 
of  University  college ;  but  before  he  took  any  degree,  he 
was  removed  to  the  Inner  Temple,  where  he  studied  law. 
Here  he   was   autumn  reader  in  1599,  treasurer  in  1609, 
and  double  reader  in   Lent  1617.     In  June  1623  he   was 
knighted   and  made  king's  serjeant;  and   Feb.  22,  1624, 
was  created  one  of  the  justices  of  the  common-pleas,  which 
office   he  held  till  1628,  when,  upon  the  death  of  sir  John 
Doderidge,  he    succeeded    him    as  justice  of  the   king's 
bench.      In   1636  he  gained  great  credit  by  taking  the  pare 
of  Hampden  in  the  case  of  ship-money,  without  losmg  the 
king's  favour.     Sir   George  had    purchased   an    estate   at 
Waterstoke,  in  Oxfordshire,  and  not  long  before  his  death 
he  petitioned  king  Charles  to  be  discharged  from  his  of- 
fice of  judge  on  account  of  his  age,  being  then  upwards  of 
eighty  years  old,  when  his  majesty  was  pleased,  in  consi- 
deration  of  his  long  and  faithful  services,  to  excuse  him 
from  any  farther  attendance,  either  on  the  bench  or  circuit, 
but  ordered  that  he  should  remain  in  office,  and  his  salary 
be  continued.     After  this  he  retired  to  Waterstoke,  where 
lie   died  Feb.  16,  1641.     Sir  Georoe  had  another  estate  at 
Studley,  near  Waterstoke,   where,  in   1639,  he  endowed 
some  almshouses.     His  epitaph  at  Watexstoke  gives  him 

•  Moreri. 


C  R  O  K  E.  2h 

a  character  vvliich  has  never  been  contradicted  ;  that  he 
was  distinguished  for  acute  judgment  and  presence  of 
mind  ;  inherited  aw  integrity  of  heart  which  neither  threats 
nor  honours  could  seduce ;  and  that  he  noised  in  equal 
balance  the  prerogative  of  the  crown  and  hberties  of  the 
people. 

The  "  Reports"  of  sir  George  Croke  have  obtained  the 
character  of  great  authenticity.  There  have  been  several 
editions,  as  in  1657,  165S,  1661,  all  of  which  are  called 
the  first  edition,  and  are  frequently  v.ithout  tables  of  the 
principal  matters  ;  there  is  also  a  very  incorrect  edition, 
varying  in  the  numbers  from  the  other  editions,  and  the 
dates  are  printed  in  numerical  letters  MDCL.  &c.  An  edi- 
tion of  1669,   which  is  called  the  second,  is  well  printed  in 

3  vols,  but  has  no  references.  The  third,  also  in  3  vols, 
fol.  was  translated  and  published  by  his  son-in-law,  sir 
Harbottle  Grimstone,  in  1683  or  1685,  with  tables  and  re- 
ferences. This  first  led  the  way  in  divesting  this  branch  of 
legal  literature  of  the  foreign  idiom,  and  substituting  the 
author's  native  language.     The  fourth  and  last  edition,  in 

4  vols.  8vo,  1790 — 1792,  with  additions  and  marginal 
notes,  and  many  references  to  later  authorities,  including 
several  from  the  MS  notes  of  lord  chief  baron  Parker,  was 
published  by  Thomas  Leach,  esq.  There  is  an  accurate 
abridgment  of  Croke's  Reports,  three  parts,  Svo,  by  VVill. 
Hughes,  esq.  published  in  1685.  Sir  George  Croke's  ar- 
guments on  ship-money  were  published  with  those  of  sir 
Richard  Hutton.  Lloyd,  no  friend  to  the  patriots  of  Charles 
L's  time,  remarks  that  the  share  in  this  tax  for  which 
Hampden  went  to  law  was  eighteen  shillings,  and  that  it 
cost  the  nation  eighteen  millions. ' 

CROKE  (Richard),  in  Latin  Crocus,  one  of  the  re- 
vivers of  classical  learning,  was  a  native  of  London,  edu- 
cated at  Eton,  and  admitted  scholar  of  King's  college, 
Cambridge,  April  4,  1506.  During  the  time  of  his  scho- 
larship he  went  to  Oxford,  and  was  instructed  in  the  Greek 
lancjuaore  by  Grocyn.  He  then  went  to  Paris  and  some 
other  parts  of  Europe  for  further  improvement,  and  con- 
tinued abroad  about  twelve  years,  supported  chiefly  by  the 
liberality  of  Warham,  archbishop  of  Canterbury.  During 
his  residence  there  he  received  a  very  high  honour,  that 

'  Ath.  Ox.  vol.   II. — Ward's  Gresham  Professors. — Lloyd's  State  Wortliies. 
•—Fuller's  Worthies. — BriJgtnan's  Legal  Bibliograplij'. 


32  C  R  O  K  E. 

of  being  chosen  Greek  professor  at  Leipsic,  being  the  first 
that  ever  tauglit  Greek  in  that  university.  Camerarius  was 
one  of  his  pupils  here.  He  resided  at  Leipsic  from  1514 
to  1517,  and  afterwards  for  some  time  at  Louvain  in  the 
same  capacity.  But  as  now  the  study  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage began  to  be  encouraged  in  our  own  universities,  and  as 
they  could  ill  spare  a  scholar  of  Croke's  accomplishments, 
he  was  invited  home,  and  in  1519,  by  the  interest  of 
Fisher,  bishop  of  Rochester,  was  chosen  public  orator,  and 
lecturer  or  teacher  of  Greek  in  that  university.  Here, 
likewise,  as  well  as  at  Leipsic,  he  was  the  first  who  pub- 
licly and  b}^  authority  taught  Greek,  Erasmus,  who  pre- 
ceded him,  having  only  made  some  private  attempts  ;  yet, 
in  some  respect  he  may  be  said  to  have  succeeded  that 
eminent  scholar,  as  in  his  oration  in  praise  of  Greek  learn- 
ing, he  makes  honourable  mention  of  Erasmus,  and  speaks 
modestly  of  himself  as  unworthy  to  succeed  him.  Eras- 
mus had  so  good  an  opinion  of  him,  that  knowing  he  was 
poor,  he  desired  dean  Colet  to  assist  him.  In  1524,  hav- 
ing proceeded  in  divinity,  he  became  doctor  in  that  fa- 
culty, and  Henry  VHL  being  informed  of  his  abilities, 
employed  him  as  tutor  to  his  natural  son,  the  duke  of 
Kichmond.  This  promotion  led  to  higher;  for,  being  in- 
troduced at  court  when  the  question  respecting  the  king's 
divorce  was  agitated.  Dr.  Croke  was  thought  a  proper  per- 
son to  be  sent  abroad,  in  order  to  influence  the  university 
of  Padua  to  the  king's  side  ;  which  he  successfully  accom- 
plished, although  the  enemies  of  that  divorce  sa}',  not  in 
the  most  honourable  manner.  From  Collier  we  learn  that 
Croke  owns,  in  a  letter  to  his  royal  master,  that  he  had 
paid  various  sums  to  at  least  five  of  the  members  of  the 
universities  of  Padua  and  Bologna,  in  order  to  keep  them 
steady  to  the  cause.  But  Burnet  appears  to  explain  this 
matter  more  to  Croke's  honour. 

On  his  return  to  England,  the  university  of  Oxford  in- 
vited him  to  settle  there,  with  which  he  complied  in  1532, 
and  taught  Greek  in  Peckwater  school  (on  the  site  of  which 
Peckwater  quadrangle  is  built),  and  soon  after  he  was 
made  a  canon  of  Cardinal  Wolsey's  college,  which  he  held 
until  1  545,  when  he  removed  to  Exeter  college  on  a  pen- 
sion of  26/.  1?js.  Gd.  per  annum,  from  the  smallness  of 
which  it  has  been  inferred  that  he  had  not  now  the  same 
interest  at  court  as  formerly  ;  but  long  before  this,  in  1 532, 
when,  upon  the  death  of  dean  Higden,  the  canons  sup- 


C  R  O  K  E.  33 

plicato.l  his  majesty,  through  lord  Cromwell,  that  he  might 
be  appointed  to  that  office,  the  request  was  denied,  nor 
was  he  afterwards  made  a  canon  of  tlie  college  upon  the 
new  foundation  by  Henry  VIII.  when  it  had  the  name  of 
the  King's  college.  It  appears  by  his  will  that  he  had  only 
the  living  of  Long  Buckby,  in  Northamptonshire,  which 
Dodd  supposes  was  conferred  upon  him  in  queen  Mary's 
time.  The  same  historian  thinks  that  in  king  Edward's  reign 
he  did  not  go  all  the  lengths  of  the  reformers,  and  gives 
as  a  proof  some  reflections  against  Leland  on  account  of 
his  inconstancy  in  religion.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  how-- 
ever,  of  Dr.  Croke's  remaining  firm  in  the  pojjish  religion, 
for  we  find  him  enumerated  among  the  witnesses  appointed 
to  discover  heresy  in  archbishop  Cranmer's  writings.  Dr. 
Croke  died  at  London  m  1558,  but  where  buried  is  not 
known.  His  writings  are,  1.  "  Oratio  de  Grcecarum  disci- 
plinarum  laudibus,"  dated  July  1519,  and  probably  printed 
about  that  time,  4to.  It  is  dedicated  to  his  fellow  colle- 
gian, Nicholas  West,  bishop  of  Ely  ;  and  the  date  shows 
the  error  of  those  biographers  who  inform  us  that  he  was 
not  chosen  Greek  professor  at  Cambridge  until  1522.  ^V'ith 
this  is  printed  "  Oratio  qua  Cantabrigienses  est  hortatus, 
ne  GrKcarum  literarum  desertores  essent."  Before,  and 
at  the  end  of  these  ovations,  Gilbert  Ducher  wrote  an 
epistle  in  praise  of  Croke's  learning.  2.  "  Introductiones 
ad  Grnecam  linguam,"  Cologn,  1520,  4to.  3.  "  In  Au- 
sonium  annotationes."  4.  "  Eleu^jenta  Gr.  Gram."  5.  "  De 
Verborum  constructione."  His  Letters  from  Italy  to  Hen- 
ry VIII.  on  the  subject  of  the  divorce  may  be  seen  in  Bur- 
net's History  of  the  Reformation,  with  a  full  account  of  his 
proceedings  there,  which  gives  us  no  very  favourable  no- 
tion of  the  liberality  of  his  royal  employer,  and  proves  that 
Collier's  accusation  of  bribery  has  not  much  foundation. 
Croke  is  also  said  to  have  made  some  translations  from  the 
Greek  of  Theodore  Gaza  and  Elysius  Calentinus.  Hody 
says  that  he  and  Erasmus  translated  Gaza's  Greek  Gram- 
mar in  1518,  which  may  be  the  same  mentioned  above; 
and  we  suspect  that  the  work  "  De  Verborum  construc- 
tione" is  also  from  Gaza.  Bale  and  Pits  are  seldom  to 
be  depended  on  in  the  titles  of  books.  The  fame  of  Croke 
has  been  recently  revived  on  the  continent  by  John  Gott. 
Boehmius,  in  his  *'  Specimen  Literaturjc  LijisiciE  SiecuIo 
XVI."  1761,  4to,  in  which  he  notices  Croke  as  the  reviver 
of  Greek  literature  in*  that  university.  The  same  author, 
Vol.  XI.  D 


34  CROMWELL. 

in  his  "  Opiiscula  Academica  de  Litteratura  Lipsiensi,'* 
has  published  Croke's  "Encomium  AcademiaeLipsiensis."  * 
CROMWELL  (Thomas),  earl  of  Essex,  an  eminent 
statesman  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  the  son  of  Walter 
Cromwell,  a  blacksmith,  at  Putney,  near  London,  and  in 
his  latter  days  a  brewer  ;  after  whose  decease,  his  mother 
was  married  to  a  sheerman  in  London.  Wiiat  education 
he  had,  was  in  a  private  school :  and  all  the  learning  he 
attained  to,  was  (according  to  the  standard  of  those  times), 
only  reading  and  writing,  and  a  little  Latin.  When  he 
grew  up,  having  a  very  great  inclination  for  travelling,  he 
went  into  foreign  countries,  though  at  whose  expence  is 
not  known  ;  and  by  that  means  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  world,  of  gaining  experience,  and  of  learning 
several  languages,  which  proved  of  great  service  to  him 
afterwards.  Coming  to  Antwerp,  where  was  then  a  very 
considerable  English  factory,  he  was  by  them  retained  to 
be  their  clerk,  or  secretary.  But  that  office  being  too 
great  a  confinement,  he  embraced  an  opportunity  that  of- 
fered in  1310,  of  taking  a  journey  to  Rome*.  Whilst  he 
remained  in  Italy  he  served  for  some  time  as  a  soldier 
under  the  duke  of  Bourbon,  and  was  at  the  sacking  of 
Rome :  and  at  Bologna  he  assisted  John  Russel,  esq.  af- 
terwards earl  of  Bedford,  in  making  his  escape,  when  he 
had  like  to  be  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  French, 
being  secretly  in  those  parts  about  our  king's  affairs.  It  i^ 
also  much  to  his  credit,  as  an  early  convert  to  the  refor- 
mation, that,  in  his  journey  to  and  from  Rome,  he  learned 
by  heart  Erasmus's  translation  of  the  New  Testament. 
After  his  return  from  his  travels  he  was  taken  into  the 
family  and  service  of  cardinal  Wolsey,  who  is  said  to  have 
first  discovered  him  in  France,  and  who  made  him  his  so- 
licitor, and  often  employed  him  in  business  of  great  im- 
portance.    Among  other  things,  he  had  the  chief  hand  in 

*  This  opportunity-was  an  accidental  plish  the  object  of  tlieir  journey,  per- 

meetins;   with   two  persons  sent  from  suaded    hiia   to  go  along   wiihlhemi 

Boston  III  Lincohishire,  with  a  snmof  and,  besides  the  money,  Cromwell  is 

muney  to  obtain  from  the  pope  a   re-  said  to  have  so  pleased  the  palate  of 

nerval  of  the  indulgences  or  pardons  to  the  pope   (Julius  II.)  by  a  present  of 

be  obtained  at  the  gild  of  our  lady  in  some  dainty  jellies,  made  in  the  Eng- 

the    church  of   St.  JJotolph's    in   that  lish  fashion,  that  he  granted  him  his 

place.     Cromwell  met  them   at  Ant-  request  ^ery  readily. — Fox's  Acts  and 

>verp,  and   they  thinking   him'  better  Monuments, 
qualiiled   than    themselves  to  accom- 

'  Aih.  Ox.  vol.  I.— Dodd's  Ch.  Hist.— Burnet's  Hist.  vol.  I.  p.  S7.— Strype's 
Cranmer,  p.  'Jl'j, — Jortin's  lirasmus, — Saxii  Onouiast. 


CROMWELL.  $5 

the  foundation  of  the  two  colleges  begun  at  Oxford  and 
Ipswich  by  that  magnificent  prelate ;  and  upon  the  car- 
dinal's disgrace  in  1529,  he  used  his  utmost  endeavours 
and  interest  to  have  him  restored  to  the  king's  favour  : 
even  when  articles  of  high-treason  against  him  were  sent 
down  to  the  l)ouse  of  commons,  of  which  Cromwell  was 
then  a  member,  he  defended  his  master  with  so  much  wit 
and  eloquence,  that  no  treason  cauld  be  laid  to  his  charge  : 
which  honest  beginning  procured  Cromwell  great  reputa- 
tion, and  made  his  parts  and  abilities  to  be  much  taken 
notice  of.  After  the  cardinal's  household  was  dissolved, 
Cromwell  was  taken  into  the  king's  service  (upon  the  re- 
commendation of  sir  Christopher  Hales,  afterwards  master 
of  the  rolls,  and  sir  John  Russel,  knt.  above-mentioned) 
as  the  fittest  person  to  manage  the  disputes  the  king  then 
had  with  the  pope;  though  some  endeavoured  to  hinder 
his  promotion,  and  to  prejudice  his  majesty  against  him, 
on  account  of  his  defacing  the  small  monasteries  that  were 
dissolved  for  endowing  Wolsey's  colleges.  But  he  disco- 
vering to  the  king  some  particulars  that  were  very  ac- 
ceptable to  him  respecting  the  submission  of  the  clergy  to 
the  poj)e,  in  derogation  of  his  majesty's  authority,  he  took 
him  into  the  highest  degree  of  favour,  and  soon  after  he 
was  sent  to  the  convocation,  then  sifting,  to  acquaint  the 
clergy,  that  they  were  all  fallen  into  a  praemunire  on  the 
above  account,  and  the  provinces  of  Canterbury  and  York 
were  glad  to  comprom.ise  by  a  present  to  the  king  of  above 
100,000/.  In  1531  he  was  knighted  ;  made  master  of  the 
king's  jewel-house,  with  a  salary  of  50/.  per  annum ;  and 
constituted  a  privy-counsellor.  The  next  year  he  was 
made  clerk  of  the  Hanaper,  an  office  of  profit  and  repute 
in  chancery  ;  and,  before  the  end  of  the  same  year,  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer,  and  in  1534,  principal  secretary 
of  state,  and  master  of  the  rolls.  About  the  same  time 
he  was  chosen  chancellor  of  the  university  of  Cambridge  ; 
soon  after  which  followed  a  general  visitation  of  that  uni- 
versity, when  the  several  colleges  delivered  up  their  char- 
ters, and  other  instruments,  to  sir  Thomas  Cromwell.  The 
year  before,  he  assessed  the  fines  laid  upon  those  who  having 
40/.  per  annum  estate,  refused  to  take  the  order  of  knight- 
hood. In  1535  he  was  appointed  visitor-general  of  the 
monasteries  throughout  England,  in  order  for  their  sup- 
pression ;  and  in  that  office  is  accused  of  having  acted  with, 
inuch  violence,  although  in  other  cases  promises  and  pen- 

D  2 


36  CROMWELL. 

sions  were  emploj'ed  to  obtain  the  compllanceof  the  monka 
and  nuns.  But  the  mode,  whatever  it  might  be,  gave  sa- 
tisfaction to  the  king  and  his  courtiers,  and  Cromwell  wa^^ 
on  July  2,  1536,  constituted  lord  keeper  of  the  privy  seal,, 
when  he  resigned  his  mastership  of  the  rolls*.  On  the 
9th  of  the  same  month  he  was  advanced  to  the  dignity  of 
a  baron  of  this  realm,  b}'  the  title  of  lord  Cromwell  of 
Okeham  in  Rutlandshire ;  and,  six  days  after,  took  his 
place  in  the  house  of  lords.  The  pope's  supremacy  being 
now  abolished  in  England,  lord  Cromwell  was  made,  on 
the  18th  of  July,  vicar-general,  and  vicegerent,  over  all 
the  spirituality,  under  the  king,  who  was  declared  supreme 
head  of  the  church.  Li  that  quality  his  lordship  satin  the 
convocation  holden  this  year,  above  the  archbishops,  as  the 
king's  representative.  Being-  invested  with  such  extensive 
power,  he  employed  it  in  discouraging  popery,  and  pro- 
moting the  reformation.  For  that  j)urpose  he  caused  cer- 
tain articles  to  be  enjoined  by  the  king's  authority,  dif- 
fering in  many  essential  points  from  the  established  system 
of  the  Roman-catholic  religion  ;  and  in  September,  this 
same  year,  he  published  some  injunctions  to  the  clergy, 
in  which  they  were  ordered  to  preach  up  the  king's  supre- 
macy;  not  to  lay  out  their  rhetoric  in  extolling  images, 
relics,  miracles,  or  pilgrimages,  but  rather  to  exhort  their 
people  to  serve  God,  and  make  provision  for  their  families  : 
to  put  parents  and  other  directors  of  youth  in  mind  to 
teach  their  children  the  Lord's-prayer,  the  Creed,  and  the 
Ten  Commandments  in  their  mother-tongue,  and  to  pro- 
vide a  Bible  in  Latin  and  English,  to  be  laid  in  the 
churches  for  every  one  to  read  at  their  plt^asure.  He  like- 
wise encouraged  tlie  translation  of  the  Bible  into  English; 
and,  when  finished,  enjoined  that  one  of  the  largest  vo- 
lume should  be  provided  for  every  parish  church,  at  the 
joint  charge  of  the  parson  and  parishioners.  These  altera- 
tions, with  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries,  and  (not- 
withstanding the  immense  riches  gotten  from  thence)  his 
demanding  at  the  same  time  for  the  king  subsidies  both 
from  the  clergy  and  laity,  occasioned  very  great  murmurs 
against  him,  and  indeed  with  some  reason.  All  this,  how- 
ever, rather  served  to  establish  him  in  the  king's  esteem, 

*  It  would  have  been  well  for  Crom-  the  king  what  he  ought  to  do,  and  not 

well  if  ho  could  have  taken  the  advice  what  he  was  ahlc  to  <lo."     Yet  a   iTii- 

sir  Thomas  More  gave  hini,  when  he  nister  of  this  east  would  not  long  have 

fiist  came  to  court,  namely,  "  to  tell  beea  minister  to  Henry  VIII. 


CROMWELL.  87 

who  was  as  prodigal  of  money  as  he  was  rapacious  ;  and 
in  lo.'i?  his  majesty  constituted  iiim  chief  justice  itinerant 
of  all  the  forests  beyond  Trent :  and  on  the  26th  of  August, 
the  same  year,  lie  was  elected  knight  of  the  garter,  and 
dean  of  the  cathedral  church  of  Wells.  The  year  follow- 
ing he  obtained  a  grant  of  the  castle  and  lordship  of  Oke- 
ham  in  the  county  of  Rutland  ;  and  was  also  made  con- 
stable of  Carisbrook-castle  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  In  Sep- 
tember he  published  new  injunctions,  directed  to  all  bi- 
shops and  curates,  in  which  he  ordered  that  a  I^ble,  in 
Kngiish,  should  be  set  up  in  some  convenient  place  in 
every  church,  where  the  parishioners  might  most  commo- 
diously  resort  to  read  the  same  :  that  the  clergy  should, 
every  Sunday  and  holiday,  openly  and  plainly  recite  to 
their  parishioners,  twice  or  thrice  together,  one  article  of 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  or  Creed,  in  English,  tiiat  they  might 
learn  the  same  by  heart :  that  they  should  make,  or  cause 
to  be  made,  in  their  churches,  one  sermon  every  quarter 
of  a  year  at  Ijeast,  in  which  they  should  purely  and  sin- 
cerely declare  the  very  gospel  ol  Christ,  and  exhort  their 
hearers  to  the  works  of  charity,  mercy,  and  faith  ;  not  to 
pilgrimages,  images,  &c.  :  that  they  should  forthwith  take 
down  all  images  to  which  pilgrima.ges  or  offerings  were 
wont  to  be  made  :  that  in  all  such  benehces  upon  which 
they  were  not  themselves  resident,  they  should  appoint 
able  curates  :  that  they,  and  every  parson,  vicar,  or  cu- 
rate, should  for  every  church  keep  one  book  of  register, 
wherein  they  should  write  the  day  and  year  of  every  wed- 
ding, christening,  and  burying,  within  their  parish  ;  and 
therein  set  every  person's  name  that  shall  be  so  wedded, 
christened,  or  buried,  &c.  Having  been  thus  highly  in- 
strumental in  [jromoting  the  reformation,  and  in  dissolving 
the  monasteries,  he  was  amply  rewarded  by  the  king  in 
1539,  witli  many  noble  manors  and  large  estates  that  had 
belonged  to  those  dissolved  houses.  On  the  17th  of  April, 
the  same  year,  he  was  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  earl  of 
Essex;  ami  soon  after  constituted  lord  high  chamberlain  of 
England.  Tiie  same  day  he  was  created  earl  of  Essex  he 
procured  Gregory  his  son  to  be  made  baron  Cromwell  of 
Okeham.  On  the  1 2th  of  March  15  1^0,  he  was  put  in 
commission,  with  others,  to  sell  the  abbey-lands,  at  twenty 
years'  purcliase  :  uhicii  was  a  thing  he  had  advised  the 
king  to  do,  in  order  to  stop  the  clamours  of  the  people,  to 
attach  them  to  his  interest,  and  to  reconcile  them  to  the 


38  CROMWELL. 

dissolution  of  the  monasteries.  But  as,  like  his  old  master 
Wolsey,  he  had  risen  rapidly,  he  was  now  doomed,  like 
him,  to  exhibit  as  striking  an  example  of  the  instability  of 
human  grandeur;  and  an  unhappy  precaution  to  secure  (as 
he  imagined)  his  greatness,  proved  his  ruin.  Observing 
that  some  of  his  most  inveterate  enemies,  particularly 
Gardiner,  bishop  of  Winchester,  began  to  be  more  in 
favour  at  court  than  himself,  he  used  his  utmost  endeavours 
to  procure  a  marriage  between  king  Heiu'y  and  Anne  of 
Cleves,  expecting  great  support  from  a  queen  of  his 
own  making;  and  as  her  friends  were  Lutherans,  he  ima- 
gined it  would  bring  down  the  popish  party  at  court,  and 
again  recover  the  ground  he  and  Cranmer  had  now  lost. 
But  this  led  immodiaiely  to  his  destruction  ;  for  the  king, 
not  liking  the  queen,  bt-gan  to  hate  Cromwell,  the  great 
promoter  of  the  marriage,  and  soon  found  an  opportunity 
to  sacrifice  him ;  nor  was  this  difficult.  Cromwell  was 
odious  to  all  the  nobility  by  reason  of  his  low  birth  :  hated 
particularly  by  Gardiner,  and  the  Roman  catholics,  for 
having  been  so  busy  in  the  dissolution  of  the  abbies  :  the 
reformers  themselves  found  he  could  not  protect  them 
from  persecution  ;  and  the  nation  in  general  was  highly 
incensed  against  him  for  his  having  lately  obtained  a  sub- 
sidy of  four  shillings  in  the  pound  from  the  clerg}-,  and 
one  tenth  and  one  fifteenth  from  the  laity;  notwithstanding 
the  immense  sums  that  had  flowed  into  the  treasury  out  of 
the  monasteries.  Henry,  with  his  usual  caprice,  and  with- 
out ever  considering  thut  Cromwell's  faults  were  his  own, 
and  committed,  if  we  may  use  the  expression,  for  his  own 
gratification,  caused  him  to  be  arrested  at  the  council  ta- 
ble, by  the  duke  of  Norfolk,  on  the  10th  of  June,  when  he 
least  suspected  it.  Being  committed  to  the  Tower,  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  king,  to  vindicate  liimself  from  the 
guilt  of  treason  ;  and  another  concerning  his  majesty's  mar- 
riage with  Anne  of  Cleves;  but  we  do  not  find  that  any 
notice  was  taken  of  these  :  yet,  as  his  enemies  knew  if  he 
were  brought  to  the  bar  he  would  justify  himself  by  pro- 
ducing the  king's  orders  and  warrants  for  what  he  had 
done,  they  resolved  to  prosecute  him  by  attainder;  and 
the  bill  being  brought  into  the  house  of  lords  the  17th  of 
June,  and  read  the  first  time,  on  the  l^th  was  read  the 
second  and  third  times,  and  sent  down  to  the  commons. 
Here,  however,  it  stuck  ten  days,  and  at  last  a  new  bill  of 
attainder  was  sent  up  to  the  lords,  framed  in  the  house  of 


CROMWELL.  39 

commons :  and  they  sent  back  at  the  same  time  the  bill 
the  lords  had  sent  to  them.    The  grounds  of  his  condemna- 
tion   were  cliierty   treason    and    heresy;    the  former  very 
confusedly  expressed.  *     Like  other  falling  favourites,  he 
was  deserted   by  most  of  his  friends,  except   archbishop 
Cranmer,   who   wrote  to  the  king  in   his  behalf  with  great 
boldness  and   spirit.     But   the  duke   of  Norfolk,  and  the 
rest  of  the  popish  party,  prevailed  ;  and,  accordingly,  in 
pursuance  of  his  attainder,  the  lord  Cromwell  was  brought 
to  a  scaflbld  erected  on  Tower-hill,  where,  after  having 
made  a  speech,  and   prayed,  he  was   beheaded,  July  28, 
1540.      His  death  is  solely  to  be  attributed  to  the  ingrati- 
tude  and  caprice  of  Henry,  whom  he  had  served  with  great 
faithfulness,  courage,  and  resolution,  in  the  most  hazard- 
ous, diilicult,    and    important   undertakings.     As    for    the 
lord  Cromwell's   character,  he    is   represented    by   popish 
historians  as  a  crafty,  cruel,  ambitious,    and  covetous  man, 
and   a  heretic  ;  but  their   opponents,  on    better  grounds, 
assert  that   he   was  a  person  of  great  wit,  and   excellent 
parts,  joined  to  extraordinary  diligence  and  industry  ;  that 
his  apprehension    was  quick  and  clear;  his  judgment  me- 
riiodical   and    solid  ;  his   memory  strong  and  rational ;  his 
tongue   fluent    and    pertinent;    his    presence   stately   and 
obligi!>g;  his   heart  large   and   noble;  his  temper  patient 
and  cautious;  his  correspondence  well  laid  ami  constant; 
his   conversation   insinuating  and  close  :   none  more  dex- 
trous in  finding  out  the  designs  of  men  and   courts;  and 
none  more  reserved  in  keeping  a  secret.     Though  he  was 
raised  from  the  meanest  contlition  to  a  high  pitch  of  ho- 
nour,   he  carried  his  greatness  with   wonderful    temper; 
being  noted  in  the  exercise  of  his  places  of  judicature,  to 
have  used  much  moderation,  and  in  his  greatest  pomp  to 
have   taken   notice  of,  and  been  thankful  to  mean  persons 
of  his  old  acquaintance.     In  his  whole  behaviour  he  was 
courteous  and  affable  to  all ;  a  favourer  in  particular  of  the 
poor  in   their  suits ;  and   ready  to  relieve  such  as  were  in 
danger  of  being  oppressed  by  powerful  adversaries  ;  and 
so  very  hospitable  and  bountiful,  that  about  two  hundred 
persons  were  served  at  the   gate  of  his  house  in  Throg- 

*  The  whole  charges  bear  marks  of  Cromwell,  a  man  of  very  base  and  low 

gross  misrepresentation  and   injustice.  degree,  into  his  service,  advanced  iiim 

It  is  rather  singutir  that  the  first  should  to  the  litli;  of  an  earl,  liScc."     Tlie    fact 

have  been  admitted,   which  is  a  direct  vva«,  that  every  thing- Cromwell  did  was 

reliection  on  the  king,  namely,  "  That  by  the  king's  authority,  and  too  many 

bis  majesty  having  received  Thomus  things  in  servile  submission  to  him. 


40  CROMWELL. 

morton -street,    London,    twice    every    day,    with    bread, 
meat,  and  drink  suEHcient*.     He  must  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  chief  instruments   in  the  reformation  :  and  though 
he  could   not  prevent  the   promulgation,  he   stopped  the 
execution,  as  far  as  he  could,  of  the  bloody  act  of  tlie  six 
articles.    But  when  the  king's  command  pressed  him  close, 
he  was  not  firm  enough  to  refuse  liis  concurrence  to  the 
condemnation  and  burning  of  John  Lambert.     In  his  do- 
mestic  concerns  he  was  very  regular  ;  calling  upon    his 
servants  yearly,  to  give  him  an   account  of  what  they  had 
got   under  liim,   and   what  they  desired   of  him  ;   warning 
them  to  improve  their  opportunities,  because,  he  said,  he 
was  too  great  to  stand  long  ;  providing  for  them  as  care- 
fully, as  for  his  own  son,  by  his  purse  and  credit,  that  they 
might  live  as  handsomely  when  he  was  dead,  as  they  did 
when  he  was  ahve.      In  a  woiil,  we  are  assured,   that  for 
piety  towards  God,  fidehty  to  his  king,  prudence  in   the 
management  of  affairs,  gratitude  to  his  benefactors^   duti- 
fulness,  charity,   and  benevolence,  there  was  not  any  one 
then  superior  to  him  in  England. 

Among  all  the  arts  of  expediency,  says  Gilpin,  laid  up 
in  the  cabinets  of  princes,  the  readiest  is  to  sacrifice  a 
minister.  The  death  of  Cromwell  was  represented  to  the 
king  as  the  best  mean  of  composing  the  people.  But 
though  prudential  reasons  may  necessitate  a  prince  to  dis- 
card a  minister,  yet  guilt  only,  and  that  nicely  examined, 
can  authorize  an  act  of  blood.  The  hand  of  a  tyrant, 
however,  generally  throws  aside  the  balance.  It  is  a  nice 
machine  ;  and  requires  pains  and  temper  to  adjust  it.  The 
sword  is  an  instrument  more  decisive;  and  of  easier  dis- 
patch. Henry's  v/as  always  stained  with  blood — often  with 
innocent  blood — but  never  with  blood  more  innocent  than 
that  of  Essex. ' 

*  The  possession  of  this  house,  on  twrnty-two   feet    farther   off,    without 

\»hich  Drapers'  hall   now  stands,  has  giving- the  least  notice.     This,  at  least, 

been  ohipttcd   to   Cromwell,  as   if  he  says    Pennant,  shows  what  .miserable 

liad  paid  but  little  regard  to  his  neigli-  tenements   a   certain    rank   of   people 

hour's  property.     Stowe   mentions  his  had.     After  Cromwell's  fall,   his  house 

own  father  as  a  sufferer  j   for  the  earl  ami   gardens  were  ])urchabed   by    the 

arbitrarily   loosened  from   its  place  a  Drapers' eom|)any,  in  whose  possession 

house   which  stood  in  Slow's  garden,  they  still  continue, 
placed  it  on  rollers,  and  had  it  carried 

'  Biog.  Brit.— Strvpe's  Cranmer,  p.  26,  27,  33,  35,  37,  40,  45,  46,  51,  55— 5?, 
73,  74,  76,  437,  438.— Strype's  Memorials,  vol.  1.  p.  114,  144,  203,  206,  2t)7, 
211,  245,  303,  307,  321,  322,  323,  325,  340,  App.  No.  103,  p.  356,  365.— Ful- 
ler's Ch.  Hist. — Fox's  Acts  and  Monuments. — Burnet's  Reformation. — Herbert's 
Life  of  Henry  VHI.— iMorc's  Life  of  sir  Thomas  More,  p.  198,  234.— Nichols's 
|Iist,  of  Leicestershire,  vol.  MI. 


CROMWELL.  41 

CROMWELL   (Oliver),    protector   of   the   common- 
%Ytaltli  of  Entjrlancl,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  cha- 
racters in  English  history,  was  descended,  both  by  his  fa- 
ther  and   motlier,   from  families   of  great   antiquity.      He 
was  the  son  of  Mr.  Robert  Cromwell,  who  was  the  second 
son   of    sir    Henry    Cromwell   of    Hinchinbrooke,    in   the 
county   of   Huntingdon,   knt.   whose  great    grandfather   is 
conjectured  to  have  been  Walter  Cromwell,  the  blacksmith 
at   Putne}-,  spoken  of  in  the  preceding  article;  and    his 
graiuimother  sister   to  Thomas  Cromwell,   earl    of   Essex. 
Yet  we  are  told  that  when  Goodman,  bishop  of  Gloucester, 
who  turned  papist,  and   was  very  desirous  of  making  his 
court  to  the  protector,   dedicated  a  book  to  him,  and  pre- 
sented a  printed  paper  to  him,  by  which  he  pretended  to 
claim  kindred  with  him,  as   being  himself  someway  allied 
to  Thomas  earl  of  Essex,  the  protector  with  some  warmth 
told  him,   "  that  lord  was  not  related  to  his  family  in  any 
decree."     For  this  story,  however,  told  by  Fuller,  there 
seems  little  foundation  *.     Robert  Cromwell,  father  of  the 
protector,  was  settled  at  Huntingdon,  and   had  four  sons 
(including  the  protector)   and  seven  daughters.     Though 
hy  the  interest  of  his  brother  sir  Oliver,   he  was  put  into 
the  commission  of  the  peace  for  Huntingdonshire,   he  had 
but  a  slender  fortune  ;  most  of  his  support  arising  from  a 
brewhouse  in  Huiuingdcjn,  chiefly   managed   by   his  wife. 
She  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  a  Stewart,   of  Rothseyth  in 
Fileshire,  and  sister  of  sir  Robert  Stewart,  of  the  isle  of 
Ely,  knt.   who  has  been  reported,  and  not  without  some 
foundation    of  truth,  to  have    been    descended    from    the 
royal  house  of  Stuart ;  as  appears  from  a  pedigree  of  her 
family  still  in  being.     Out  of  the  profits  of  this  trade,  and 
her  own  jointure  of  60/.   per  annum,  Mrs.  Cromwell  pro- 

*  We  liave  not  much  disturbed  the  CiomwcU;  and  has  still  more  minutely 
account  in  our  jjreceding  edition,  but  been  pursued  by  Mr.  Gougli  in  the  Bib- 
more  am{)le  information  respecting  the  liotheca  Topographica  Briiaunica,  No. 
protector's  family  may  be  found  in  XXXI.  But  for  tlie  most  complete  and 
Noble's  Memoirs.  Some  years  ago,  extensive  intelligence,  recourse  must 
great  pains  were  taken  to  ot)tain  every  be  bad  to  Mr.  Noble's  Metnoirs  of  the 
possible  information  concerning  the  fa-  Protectoral  House  of  Cromwell,  in 
mily  of  Oliver  Cj-omwell,  ami  to  trace  whicli  will  be  found  not  only  whatever 
his  tlesccnilauts  down  to  the  present  could  well  be  collected  concerning  the 
time.  The  subject  was,  in  part,  be-  posterity  of  the  protector,  but  an  ac- 
pun  by  Mr.  Duncombe,  or  rat.ber  by  count  of  all  tlie  families  to  which  the 
Mr.  I.uson,  in  the  appeiwiix  to  the  se-  house  of  Cromwell  was  allied,  as  well 
cond  v(jlunie  of  Hughes's  Letters;  was  as  of  the  principal  persons  who  were 
carried  on  by  Dr.  Gil)bous,  at  the  end  distinguished  and  employed  by  Oliver 
pf  his  fuiierai  Sermon  for  Mr.  William  duruig  his  government. 


42  CROMWELL. 

vided  fortunes  for  her  daughters,  sufficient  to  marry  them 
into  good  families.     The  eldest,  or  second   surviving,  was 
the  wife  of  Mr.  John  Deshorough,  afterwards  one  of  the 
protector's  major-generals ;  another  married,  first,  Jloger 
Whetstone,  esq.  and  afterwards  colonel  John  Jones,  who 
was  executed  for  being  one  of  the  king's  judges  ;  the  third 
espoused  colonel  Valentine   Walton,   who  died   in   exile  j 
the   fourth,  Robina,  married  first   Dr.   Peter  French,  and 
then  Dr.  John  Wilkins,  a  man  eminent  in  the  republic  of 
letters,  and   after  the   restoration   bishop   of   Chester.     It 
may  be  also  added,  that  an  aunt  of  the  protector's  married 
Francis  Barrington,   esq.   from  whom  descended   the  Bar- 
ringtons  of  Essex ;    another   aunt,    John   Hampden,    esq. 
of  Buckinghamshire,   by  whom  she  was  mother  of  the  fa- 
mous John  Hampden,  who  lost  his  life  in  Chalgrave  field  ; 
a  third  was  the  wife  of  Mr.  Whaley,  and  the  mother  of 
colonel  Whaley,  in  whose  custody  the  king  was  while  he 
remained  at  Hampton-court;  the  fourth  aunt  married  Mr. 
Dunch. 

Cromwell  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St.  John,   Hunting- 
don, where  his  father  mostly  lived,  April  25,    1599,  and 
baptized  2  9th  of  the  same  month  ;  and  educated  in  gram- 
mar-learning at  the  free-school  in   that  town,  under  Dr. 
Beard,  a  severe  disciplinarian.     We  have  very  different 
accounts  of  his  behaviour   while  he  remained  at  school : 
some  say  that  he  shewed  very  little  propensity  to  learning; 
others,  that  he  made  a  great  proficiency  in  it.     It  is  very 
probable  that  both  are  wrong ;  and  that  he  was  not  either 
incorrigibly  dull,  or  wonderfully  bright ;  but  that   he  was 
an  unlucky  boy,  and  of  an  uneasy  and  turbulent  temper, 
is  reported   by   authors   of  unsuspected    veracity.     Many 
stories  are  told  of  his  enthusiasm  in  this  early  part  of  his  life; 
one  of  which  we  shall  mention  :  lying  melancholy  upon  his 
bed,  in  the  day-time,  he  fancied  he  saw  a  spectre,  which 
told  him,  that  he  should  be  the  greatest  man  in  the  king- 
dom.     His  father,  being  informed  of  this,  was  very  angry, 
and   desired   his  master   to   correct  him   severely,   which, 
however,  had  no  great  effect ;  for  Oliver  was  still  persuaded 
of  the   tiling,  and  would  sometimes  mention  it,  notwith- 
standing his  uncle  Stewart  told  him,   "  it  was  too  traitorous 
to  repeat  it."     Sir  Philip  Warwick  tells  us,  that  he  was 
very    well    acquainted    with   one    Dr.   Simcot,   Cromwell's 
physician  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  life,  who  assured  him, 
that  he  was  a  very  fanciful  man,  and  subject  to  great  dis- 


CROMWELL.  43 

orders  of  imagination  :  and  it  is  certain,  that  he  was  not 
ahogcther  free  from  these  tits  during  his  whole  Hfe,  not 
€ven  in  the  iieight  of  his  prosperity. 

From  Huntingdon  he  was  removed  to  Sidney  college  in 
Cambridge,  where  he  was  admitted  fellow-commoner, 
April  23,  1616.  The  entry  of  his  admission  is  in  these 
words  :  "  Oliverus  Cromwell,  Huntingdonensis,  admissus 
ad  commeatum  sociorum  coll.  Siden.  Aprilis  23,  1616; 
tutore  M.  Ricardo  Howlet."  VVe  have  very  different  ac- 
counts of  the  progress  he  made  in  iiis  studies  while  a  mem- 
ber of  the  university.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  acquainted 
with  Greek  and  Roman  history ;  but  whether  he  acquired 
this  knowledge  at  Cambridge,  is  a  point  that  may  be 
doubted  ;  since,  as  several  writers  inform  us,  he  spent 
much  of  his  time  there  at  foot-ball,  cricket,  and  other  ro- 
bust exercises,  for  his  skill  and  expertness  in  which  he  was 
famous.  His  father  dying  about  two  years  after  he  had 
been  at  college,  he  returned  home  ;  where  the  irregularity 
of  his  conduct  so  disturbed  his  mother,  that,  by  the  ad- 
vice of  friends,  she  sent  him  to  London,  at.d  placed  him 
in  Lincoln's-inn.  But  here,  instead  of  applying  to  the 
studv  of  the  law,  he  gave  himself  up  to  wine,  women,  and 
play;  so  that  he  quickly  dissipated  what  his  father  had  left 
him.  His  stay  at  Lincoln's-inn  could  not  be  lonsr,  nor  was 
this  season  of  wildness  of  much  continuance  ;  for  he  was 
married  when  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  as  appears 
from  the  parish  register  of  8t.  John,  Huntingdon  ;  in 
which  we  find,  that  his  eldest  son  Robert,  who  died  a  child, 
was  born  Oct.  8,  1621  ;  so  that  if  he  staid  but  two  years 
at  the  university,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  he  did  not 
stay  there  longer,  there  was  not  above  two  years  more  for 
his  jroinfT  to  Lincoln's-inn,  and  runnins:  throuorh  the  whole 
circle  of  his  follies.  The  lady  he  married  was  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  sir  James  Bouchier  of  Essex,  knt.  descended 
from  the  ancient  earls  of  Essex  of  that  name ;  whom  he 
gained  more  by  the  interest  of  his  relations  Hampden,  Bar- 
rington,  Stewart,  &c.  than  by  his  own.  She  was  a  woman 
of  spirit  and  parts,  but  had  not  many  personal  charms, 
and  it  is  said,  was  not  without  a  considerable  share  of 
pride. 

Soon  after,  he  returned  to  Huntingdon,  where  he  led  a 
very  grave  and  sober  life.  Some  have  imputed  this  very 
sudden  renunciation  of  his  vices  and  follies,  to  his  failing 
in  with  the  puritans  ;  but  it  is  certain,  that  he  remained 


4*  CROMWELL. 

then,  and  for  some  time  after,  a  eealous  member  of  the 
church   of  England,  and  entered   into  a   close   friendship 
with  several  eminent  divines.     He  continued   at   Hunting- 
don till  an  estate  of  above  400/.  a  year,  devolving  to  him 
by  the  death  of  his  uncle  sir  Thomas  Stewart,  induced  him 
to  remove  into  the  isle  of  VAy.     It  was  about  this  time  that 
be  began  to  fall  off  from  the  church,  and  to  converse  with 
the  puritans,   whose   notions  he  soon   alter  embraced  with 
his  usual  warmth,  and  with  as   much  sincerity  as  could  be 
expected  from  one  who  was  so  soon  to  convert  these  no- 
tions into  the  instruments  of  ambition.      He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  third  parliament  of  Charles  I.  which  met 
Jan.  20,    1628;  and    was   of   the   committee    for    religion, 
where  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  zeal  against  popery, 
and  by  complaining  of  Neile  bishop  of  Winchester's  li- 
censing books  which  had  a  dangerous  tendency.     After  the 
dissolution  of  that  parliament,   he  returned  into  the  conn- 
try,  where  he  continued  to  express  much  concern  for  re- 
ligion, and   to  frequent  silenced  ministers,  and  to   invite 
them  often  to  lectures  and  sermons  at  his  house.     By  this 
he  brought  his  affairs  again  into  a  verj'  indifferent  situation, 
so  that,  by  way  of  repairing  his  fortune,  he  took  a  farm  at 
St.  Ives,   which  he  kept  about  five  years,    but  which   he 
mismanaged,  and  would  have  been  ruined  if  he  had  not 
thrown  it  up.     These   disappointments   revived  in   him   a 
scheme,  which  his  bad  circumstances  first  suiroested  while 
at  Lincoln's-inn,  of  going  over  into  New  I'jigland.     This 
was  in  1637;  and  his  design,  it  is  thought,  had  certainly 
been  executed,  if  he  had  not  been  hindered  by  the  issuing 
out  a  proclamation  for  restraining  such  embarkations.     The 
next  year  he  had  less  time  upon  his  hands  ;   for  the  earl  of 
Bedford,  and  some  other  persons  of  high  rank,  who  had 
large  estates  in  the  fen  countr}',  were  very  desirous  of  see- 
ing it  better  drained  ;  and  though  one  project  of  this  sort 
had  failed,  they  set  on   foot  another,  and   got  it  counte- 
nanced by  royd\  authority,  and  settled  a  share  of  the  pro- 
fits upon  the  crown.     This,   though  really   intended   for  a 
public  benefit,   was  opposed   as   injurious  to  private  pro- 
perty; and  at  the  head  of  the  opposition  was  Cromwell, 
who  had  a  considerable  interest  in  those  parts.     The  acti- 
vity  and   vigilance  which  he  shewed  upon  this  occasion, 
first  rendered  him  conspicuous,   and  gave   occasion  to  his 
friend  and  relation   Hampden,    to  recommend  him  after- 
wards in  parliament,  as  a  person  capable  of  contriving  and 


C  R  O  ]M  W  E  L  L.  4.5 

conducting  great  things.  Notwithstandisig  this,  he  was 
not  very  successful  in  his  opposition,  and,  as  his  private 
all'airs  were  still  declining,  he  was  in  a  very  necessitous 
condition  at  the  approach  of  the  long  parliament. 

In  these  circumstances  one  might  wonder,  how  he  should 
form  a  design,  at  a  time  when  elections  were  considered  as 
things  of  the  utmost  consequence,  of  getting  himself 
chosen,  niore  especially  for  the  town  of  Cambridge,  where 
he  was  so  far  from  having  any  interest,  that  he  was  not  so 
much  as  known  ;  and,  if  he  had  been  known,  would  never 
have  been  elected.  But  the  whole  of  that  affair  was  owino- 
to  an  accidental  intrigue,  in  which  himself  had  at  first  no 
hand.  One  reason  why  he  quitted  Huntingdon  was,  a  dis- 
pute he  had  with  Mr.  Bernard,  upon  his  becoming  re- 
corder, about  precedency  ;  a  point  in  which  he  was  very 
nice.  After  he  came  to  Ely,  he  resorted  entirely  to  non- 
conformist meetings,  where  he  quickly  distinguished  him- 
self by  his  gifts,  as  they  were  styled  in  those  days,  of 
preaching,  praying,  and  expounding.  At  one  of  these 
meetings  he  met  with  Richard  Tims,  a  tradesman  of  Cam- 
bridge, who  rode  every  Sunday  to  Ely  for  the  sake  of  pure 
doctrine  ;  and  captivated  his  heart  entirely.  This  man, 
hearing  that  a  parliament  was  to  be  called,  and  being  him- 
self one  of  the  common- council,  took  it  into  his  head,  that 
there  could  not  be  a  fitter  man  to  be  their  burgess  tliau 
Mr.  Cromwell;  and  with  this  notion  he  went  to  Wilclbore, 
a  draper  in  the  town,  and  a  relation  of  Cromwell's,  who 
agreed  with  him  exactly  as  to  the  fitness  of  the  person,  but 
told  him  the  thing  was  impossible,  as  he  was  not  a  free- 
man. Tims,  not  satisfied  with  that,  addressed  himself 
next  to  Evett,  a  tallow-chandler,  who  was  also  a  puritan. 
He  relished  the  thought ;  but,  for  the  same  reason,  pro- 
nounced the  design  impracticable.  However,  Tims  had 
hardly  left  his  house,  before  Evett  sent  for  him  back,  and 
whispered,  that  the  mayor  had  a  freedom  to  bestow,  and 
that  one  Kitchingman,  an  attorney,  who  had  married  his 
wife's  sister,  and  was  of  their  party,  had  a  great  inHuence 
over  him.  He  advised  him  therefore  to  move  Kitching- 
man in  it,  who  was  to  use  his  interest  with  the  mayor, 
statmg  that  Mr.  Cromwell  was  a  gentleman  of  fortune,  and 
had  a  mind  to  come  and  live  in  the  town,  which  was  then 
in  a  poor  condition  ;  but  with  a  strict  charge  to  hide  tiie 
true  design,  alderman  French,  who  was  then  the  mayor, 
being  a  declared  royalist.     When  they  came  to  roake  this 


46  CROMWELL. 

application  to  him,  French  said  he  was  sorry,  but  that  in 
reality  they  came  too  late,  for  he  had  promised  his  free- 
dom to  the  king's  fisherman.  Kitchingman  easily  removed 
this  objection,  by  undertaking  that  the  town  should  confer 
a  freedom  upon  the  person  he  mentioned  ;  and  accordingly 
at  the  next  court-day,  the  mayor  declared  his  intention  to 
bestow  his  freedom  on  a  very  worthy  gentleman  of  the  isle 
of  Ely,  one  Mr.  Cromwell ;  who,  being  apprized  of  his 
friend's  indastry,  came  to  town  over  night,  and  took  up 
his  lodgings  at  Almond's,  a  grocer.  Thither  the  mace 
was  sent  for  him,  and  he  came  into  court  dressed  in  scarlet, 
richly  laced  with  gold  ;  where,  having  provided  plenty  of 
claret  and  sweetmeats,  they  were  so  well  circulated  among 
the  corporation,  that  they  unanimously  declared  Mr.  Mayor's 
freeman  to  be  a  civil  worthy  gentleman.  When  the  elec- 
tion came  on,  the  mayor  discovered  his  mistake ;  but  it 
was  then  too  late,  for  the  party  among  the  burgesses  was 
strong  enough  to  choose  him,  which  they  accordingly  did 
at  the.  next  election  the  ensuing  year. 

When  he  came  into  parliament,  he  was  very  constant  in 
his  attendance,  and  a  frequent  speaker;  though  he  did  not 
at  that  time  discover  any  of  the  great  qualities  which  after- 
wards appeared,  and  which  seem  to  have  been  called  out 
as  occasion  required.  He  affected  not  only  plainness  but 
carelessness  in  dress,  was  very  uniform  in  his  conduct,  and 
spoke  wqrmly  and  roundly,  but  without  either  art  or  elo- 
cution. He  was  very  forward  in  censuring  what  were  called 
grievances,  both  in  church  and  state,  though  he  had  not 
framed  to  himself  any  plan  of  reformation.  This  he  frankly 
acknowledged,  with  respect  to  ecclesiastical  affairs,  when 
pressed  by  sir  Thomas  Chicheley  and  Mr.  Warwick  to  de- 
clare his  sentiments  on  that  subject.  "  I  can  tell,"  said 
Cromwell,  "  what  I  would  not  have,  though  I  cannot  tell 
what  I  would  have."  He  was  very  zealous  in  promoting 
the  remonstrance,  which  was  carried  Nov.  14,  1641,  and 
which  in  reality  laid  the  basis  of  the  civil  war;  and  de- 
clared to  lord  Falkland  afterwards,  that  if  the  remonstrance 
had  not  been  carried,  he  was  resolved  to  have  convened 
the  small  remains  of  his  estate  into  ready  money  the  next 
day,  and  to  have  quitted  the  kingdom  upon  the  first  op- 
portunity. His  firnmess  upon  this  occasion  recommended 
him  so  effectually  to  Hampden,  Pyni,  and  the  rest  of  the 
leaders  on  that  side,  that  thev  took  him  into  all  their  coun- 
cils ;  where  he  acquired  that  clear  insiglit  into  thmgs,  and 


C  R  O  M  W  E  L  L.  47 

knowledge  of  men,  of  which  afterwards  he  made  siicli 
astonishing  use.  As  soon  as  the  parliament  formed  any 
scheme  of  raising  forces,  which  was  in  the  beginning  of 

1642,  Cromwell  shewed  his  activity,  by  going  immediately 
to  Cambridge  ;  where  he  soon  raised  a  troop  of  horse,  of 
which  himself  was  appointed  commander.  He  fixed  his 
head  quarters  there,  where  he  acted  with  great  severity  ; 
towards  the  university  especially,  after  he  missed  seizing 
the  plate  which  was  contributed  by  the  loyal  colleges  for  the 
king's  service,  and  sent  down  to  the  king  when  he  set  up 
his  standard  at  Nottingham.  It  was  probably  about  the 
same  time  that  Cromwell  had  a  very  remarkable  interview 
with  his  uncle,  of  which  sir  Philip  Warwick  had  an  account 
from  the  old  g-entleman  himself.  "  Visiting  old  sir  Oliver 
Cromwell,  his  uncle  and  godfather,  at  nis  house  at  Ram- 
sey, he  told  me  this  story  of  his  successful  nephew  and 
godson,  that  he  visited  him  with  a  good  strong  party  of 
horse,  and  that  he  asked  him  his  blessing ;  and  that  the 
few  hours  he  was  there,  he  would  not  keep  on  his  hat  in 
his  presence  ;  but  at  the  same  time  that  he  not  only  dis- 
armed, but  plundered  him,  for  he  took  away  all  his  plate." 
He  was  more  successful  in  his  next  enterprise;  for  being 
informed  that  the  king  had  appointed  sir  Thomas  Conings- 
by  sheriff  of  Hertfordshire,  and  had  sent  him  a  writ,  re- 
quiring him  to  proclaim  the  earl  of  Essex  and  his  adherents 
traitors,  Cromwell  marched  with  his  troop  directly  to  St. 
Alban's,  where  he  seized  sir  Thomas  Coningsby  for  that 
action,  and  carried  him  prisoner  to  London.  He  received 
the  thanks  of  the  parliament  for  this  ;  and  we  find  liim  soon 
after  at  the  head  of  1000  horse,  with  the  title  of  colonel. 
Strange  as  it  may  be  seem,  it  is  conhrmed  by  historians  on 
all  sides,  that,  though  he  assumed  the  military  character 
in  his  43d  year,  in  the  space  of  a  few  months  he  not  only 
gained  the  reputation  of  an  officer,  but  really  became  a 
good  one;  and  still  stranger,  that  by  mere  dint  of  disci- 
pline he  made  his  new-raised  men  excellent  soldiers,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  that  invincible  strength,  which  he 
afterwards  exerted  in  behalf  of  the  parliament. 

The  nature  of  our  work  will  not  suffer  us  to  enter  into  a 
detail  of  all  Cromwell's  exploits  in  the  course  of  the  civil 
war  :  we  must  content  ourselves  with  ujentionintj  in  a  ne- 
neral  way  some  few  memorable  acts,  referring  our  reader 
to  histories  for  more  particular  accounts.     In  the  spring  of 

1643,  having  settled  matters  in  the  six  associated  counties 


48  C  R  O  xM  W  E  L  L. 

of  Essex,  Hertford,  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Cambridge,  and 
Huntingdon,  he  advanced  into  Lincolnshire,  where  he  did' 
great  service  by  restraining  the  king's  garrison  at  Newark, 
giving  a  check  to  tlie  earl  of  Newcastle's  troops  at  Horn- 
castie,  and  performing  many  other  services,  which  increased 
his  credit  with  the  parliament.  The  Scots  having  been 
invited  to  England  by  the  parliament,  it  was  judged  iiio-hly 
requisite  that  the  army  under  the  earl  of  Manchester  and 
Cromwell,  who  was  now  declared  lieutenant-general  of 
the  horse,  should  join  them,  the  better  to  enable  them  to 
reduce  York,  which  they  had  closely  besieged.  This 
service  was  performed  with  great  vigour  and  diligence, 
especially  by  Cromwell ;  for  though  the  earl  had  the  title, 
the  power  was  chiefly  in  Cromwell ;  and  things  were  so 
dextrously  managed  between  him  and  his  friends  at  West- 
minster, that,  as  they  knew  they  might  depend  upon  him, 
they  took  care  to  put  as  much  in  his  hands  as  they  could. 
In  the  battle  of  Marston-moor,  fought  July  3,  1644,  it  is 
unanimously  agreed,  that  Cromwell's  cavalrv,  who  were 
commonly  styled  Ironsides,  changed  the  fortune  of  the 
day,  as  that  battle  did  of  the  war ;  for  the  king's  affairs 
declined,  and  the  parliament's  flourished  ever  after. 
Some,  however,  though  they  allow  this  readily  to  Crom- 
well's forces,  have  yet  represented  him  as  acting  in  a  piti- 
ful cowardly  manner,  and  so  terrified,  as  even  to  run 
away  :  but  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  relators.  It  is 
certain,  that  on  the  19th  of  the  same  month  he  stormed 
the  earl  of  Exeter's  fine  house  at  Burleigh  ;  and  no  man's 
courage,  conduct,  and  services,  were  more  valued  at  Lon- 
don. He  was  also  in  the  second  battle  at  Newbury,  Sept. 
17,  in  the  same  year,  and  is  said  to  have  made  so  bold  a 
charge  with  his  horse  upon  the  guards,  that  his  majesty's 
person  had  been  in  the  utmost  danger,  if  the  old  earl  of 
Cleveland  had  not  come  in  to  his  relief,  and  preserved  his 
master's  liberty  at  the  expence  of  his  own.  Aud  in  the 
winter,  when  the  disputes  in  parliament  ran  higher  than 
ever,  nothing  but  Cromwell's  merit  and  good  fortune  were 
talked  of  by  his  party ;  some  of  whom  even  styled  him  the 
saviour  of  the  nation. 

The  wisest  men  and  the  best  patriots  saw  very  clearly 
whither  these  excessive  praises  tended.  That  the  nation 
might  be  made  as  fully  convinced  of  it,  the  earl  of  Man- 
chester exhibited  a  charfje  asjainst  him  in  the  house  of 
lords;  ai:d  Cromwell,  in  return,  brought  another  against 


C  R  O  M  WELL.  49 

the  noble  peer  in  the  house  of  commons.  It  is  true,  that 
neither  of  these  charges  was  prosecuted  ;  but  it  is  equally 
true,  that  Cromwell  and  his  friends  absolutely  carried  their 
point,  by  bringing  in  what  was  called  the  self-denying  or- 
dinance, which  excluded  the  members  of  either  house 
from  having  any  commands  in  the  army ;  from  which, 
however,  on  account  of  his  extraordinary  merit,  which 
set  him  above  all  ordinances,  Cromwell  was  at  first  occa- 
sionally, and  at  length  a'together  exempted.  From  being 
lieutenant-general  of  the  horse,  he  became  lieutenant-ge- 
neral of  the  army  ;  and  he  procured  an  address  from  hi* 
regiment,  declaring  their  satisfaction  with  the  change.  He 
continued  to  distinguish  himself  by  his  military  successes, 
and  to  receive  the  thanks  of  both  houses  for  the  services 
he  did.  He  shone  particularly  at  the  battle  of  Naseby, 
June  14,  1C46,  and  had  also  his  share  in  reducing  the 
westj  till,  upon  the  surrender  of  Exeter,  April  13,  1645, 
he  found  leisure  to  return  to  London.  Upon  taking  his 
seat  in  the  house,  thanks  were  returned  him,  in  terms  as 
strong  as  words  could  express  ;  and  the  prevailing  party 
•there  received  from  him  such  encouragement,  as  induced 
them  to  believe  he  was  wholly  at  their  devotion.  But  in 
this  they  were  mistaken  ;  for  while  they  thought  the  lieu- 
tenant-general employed  in  their  business,  he  was  in 
reality  only  attentive  to  his  own.  Thus,  when  the  parlia- 
ment inclined  to  disband  a  part  of  their  forces,  after  the 
king  had  delivered  himself  to  the  Scots  and  the  Scots 
had  agreed  to  deliver  him  to  the  parliament,  Crom- 
well opposed  it  vigorously,  if  not  openly.  For,  in  the  first 
place,  he  insinuated  by  his  emissaries  to  the  soldiers,  that 
this  was  not  only  the  highest  piece  of  ingratitude  towards 
those  who  had  fought  the  parliament  into  a  power  of  dis- 
banding them,  but  also  a  crying  act  of  injustice,  as  it  was 
done  with  no  other  view  than  to  cheat  them  of  their  ar- 
rears. Secondly,  he  procured  an  exemption  for  sir  Tho- 
mas Fairfax's  army,  or,  in  other  words,  for  his  own,  th^ 
general  only  having  that  title  and  appointments,  while 
Cromwell  had  the  power ;  and  the  weight  of  the  reduction 
fell  upon  Massey's  brigade  in  the  west,  together  with  the 
troops  which  colonel  Poyntz  commanded  in  Yorkshire  ; 
men  of  whom  he  had  good  reason  to  doubt,  but  upon  whotn 
the  parliament  might  have  depended.  Thus  he  dextrously 
turned  to  his  own  advantage  the  means  which,  in  truth, 
were  contrived  for  his  destruction. 
Vol.  XI.  E 


50  CROMWELL. 

Nov.  12,  1646,  the  army  marched  triumphantly  through 
London  ;  and  in  February  following,  tiie  Scots  liaving  re- 
ceived the  money  agreed  on,  delivered  up  the  king,  who 
was  carried  prisoner  to  Holmby.     At  this  time  Cromwell 
had  a  most  difficalt  part  to  play.     What  wore  the  legal 
appearance  of  power  was  evidently  in  the  hands  of  the  par- 
liament, in  which  the  presbyterian  party  was  still  prevalent; 
and  as  the  general  sir  Thomas  Fairfax  was  likewise  in  that 
interest,  the  real  power  seemed  also  to  be  on  their  side. 
At  bottom,  however,  the  army,  now  taught  to  know  their 
ftvvn  strength,  were  in  reality  the  masters ;  and  they  were 
entirely  directed  by  Cromwell,  though  they  knew  it  not 
themselves.  He  saw  the  necessity  of  having  a  strong  place, 
and  getting  the  king's  person  into  their  power  ;  and  he 
contrived  to  do  both,  without  seeming  to  have  a  hand  in 
either.     Oxford  was  at  that  time  in  a  good  condition,  and 
well  supplied  with  artillery,  upon  which  the  army  seized 
it,  with  the  magazines,  and  every  thing  else ;  and   Crom- 
well,   then    at   London,    prevailed  upon  cornet  Joyce  to 
seize  the  king's  person  with  a  strong  detachment  of  horse, 
not  only  without  the  general's  orders,    but  without  any 
orders  at  all,  except  those  verbal  instructions  from  Crom- 
well.    This  was  executed  June  4,    1647,  notwithstanding 
the  parliament's  commissioners  were  then  with   the  king  ; 
who  was  conducted  from   Holmby  to   Childersly,  in  Cam- 
bridgeshire, then  the  army's  head  quarters.    Here,  through 
themanagementchiefly  of  Cromwell  and  his  son-in-law  com- 
missary Ireton,  the  king  was  treated,  not  only  with  reverence, 
but  with  kindness ;    and   when   sir  Thomas  Fairfax,    who 
knew  nothing  of  the  taking  of  the  king  away,  and  disliked 
it,  would  have  sent  him  back  again  with  the  commissioners, 
under  the  guard  of  two  regiments  of  horse,  the  king  abso- 
lutely refused  to  move.     Nay,  to  such  a  degree  was  that 
monarch  convinced  of  the  sincerity  of  his  new  friends,  that 
he  had  the  indiscretion   to  tell  sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  when 
he  made  him  a  tender  of  his  duty  and  respect,  with  pro- 
mises of  fair  treatment,  that  "  he  thought  he  had  as  good 
an  interest  in  the  army  as  himself." 

The  remaining  six  months  of  this  year  were  the  most 
criticalof  Crouivvell's  whole  life;  for  in  order  to  succeed 
in  his  schemes,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  de- 
ceive the  king,  the  parliumont,  and  the  army,  which  in 
turn  was  effected,  though  not  uitliout  danger  and  diffi- 
culty.    The  king  relied  entirely  uj)<.)ii   Cromwell  and   Ire- 


CROMWELL.  51 

ton  ;  and  tliey,  on   the  other  hand,    spoke  of  and  acted 
towards  him  in  such  a  manner,  that  they  were  looked  upon 
as  absolute  courtiers.     Nor  is  it  at  all  wonderful  that  the 
king   gave   credit  to   them,  when   they  prevailed  on   the 
army  to  send  a  letter  to  the  parliament,  delivered  July  9, 
1647,  avowing  the  king's  cause  to  be  theirs,  and  that  no 
settlement  could  be  hoped  for,  without  granting  him  his 
just  rights.     As  to  the  parliament,  so  long  as  they  enjoj'ed 
their  power,    Cromwell   always   spoke   the   language  of  a 
member  of  the  house  of  commons  :  siiewed  a  liiiih  regard 
tor  their  privileges  ;  and  professed,  that  he  was  suspected 
and  disliked  by  the  army,  for  his  attachment  to  the  civil 
government.     This  did    not,    however,    hinder  his  being 
disbelieved  by  many,  till  at  length  he  found  it  necessary 
for  his  own  safety  to  make  his  escape  from  the  house  with 
some  precipitation.     That  mutinous  spirit  which   the  sol- 
diers discovered   against  the   parliament,   was  raised,    fo- 
mented,    and    managed    by    Cromwell   and    Ireton  ;     the 
former  declaring  at  Triploe-heath,  when  the  parliament 
had  been  obliged  to   erase  their  own   declaration  out   of 
their  journals,  that  *'  now  they  might  be  an  army  as  long 
as  they  lived." 

Soon  after  this,  a  new  party  sprung  up  among  the  sol- 
diers, under  the  title  of  Levellers,  who  made  no  secret  of 
their  hating  equally  both  king  and  parliament;  and  it  was 
to  save  himself  from  these  people,  who,  as  he  was  in- 
formed by  Cromwell,  sought  his  life,  that  the  king,  Nov.  11, 
fled  from  Hampton-court  to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  after  having 
rejected  the  parliament's  proposals  by  Cromwell's  and 
Ireton's  advice.  Immediately  after  this,  Cromwell  altered 
his  behaviour  to  the  king  entirely  ;  for,  having  made  use 
of  the  king's  presence  to  manage  the  arm}',  and  of  the 
power  which  the  army  had  thereby  acquired,  to  humble 
and  debase  the  parliament,  there  remained  no  end  to  be 
answered  by  keeping  measures  any  longer  with  the  king. 
The  parliament,  now  much  altered  from  what  it  was,  upon 
the  king's  refusing  to  pass  four  bills  they  had  sent  him, 
fell  into  very  warm  debates ;  in  which  it  is  asserted  that 
Cromwell  was  a  principal  speaker,  and  inveighed  bitterly 
against  his  majesty,  saying,  "  the  king  was  a  very  able 
man,  but  withal  a  great  dissembler  ;  one  in  whom  no  trust 
could  be  reposed,  and  with  whom,  therefore,  they  ought 
to  have  nothing  to  do  for  the  future."  However  this  might 
be,  the  parliament,  Jan,  5,    voted  that  no  more  addresses 

£   2 


52  C  R  O  M  W  ELL. 

should  be  made  to  the  king ;  and  from  that  time  he  was 
more  strictly  imprisoned  than   ever.     In   the  mean   time, 
there  were  risings  in  several  parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  which 
employing  the  military  power,  the  city  of  London  and  the 
parliament  were  left  in  some  measure  at  liberty  to  pursue 
their  own  sentiments ;  and  what  these  were,  quickly  ap- 
peared ;  for  on  June  27,    1648,  the   city  petitioned   for  a 
personal  treaty  with  the  king,  which  was  very  well  re- 
ceived, and  some  steps  taken  to  advance  it.     A  few  days 
after,  the  commons  recalled  their  vote  for  n on -addresses, 
began  a  personal  treaty  with  the  king  at  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  at  length  voted  his  majesty's  concessions  satisfactory, 
and  an  attempt  was  even  made  to  impeach  Cromwell  of 
high  treason.     But  the  army  having  now  reduced  all  oppo- 
sition, and  returning  towards   London,    Nov.'  20,    sent  a 
remonstrance  to  the  house  of  conmions,  disapproving  all 
they  had  done.     The  remonstrance  was  carried  by  colonel 
Ewers,  who  went  next  into  the  isle  of  Wight,  where  he 
seized  the  person   of  the  king,  and  carried  him  to  Hurst 
castle.     This  was  resented  by  the  parliament,  who  com- 
manded the  general  to  recall  his  orders ;   but  instead  of 
this,  the  army  marched   directly  to*  London,  and   in  De- 
cember, took  possession  of  it;  purged,  as  they  called  it, 
the  house  of  commons,  turning  out  the  greater  part  of  its 
members,  and  then  forcing  the  rest  to  do  what  they  pleased. 
In   most  of  these  proceedings    Cromwell    appeared    very 
active,  and  is,  with  good  reason,  believed  to  have  directed 
them  all. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  particularly  upon  those  w^ell- 
known  circumstances  relating  to  the  king's  being  brought 
before  the  high  court  of  justice,  and  to  the  sentence  of 
death  passed  upon  him  there ;  since  the  part  Cromwell 
acted  therein  w-as  of)eii  and  public.  He  sat  at  the  court ; 
he  signed  the  warrant;  and  he  prosecuted  the  accomplish- 
ment of  it  by  the  bloody  execution  of  the  king.  When 
the  first  proposition  was  made  in  the  house  of  commons 
for  trying  the  king,  he  rose  up,  and  said,  that  "  if  any 
man  moved  this  upon  design,  he  should  think  him  the 
greatest  traitor  in  the  world  ;  but  since  Providence  and  ne- 
cessity had  cast  them  upon  it,  he  should  pray  God  to  bless 
their  councils,  though  he  was  not  provided  on  the  sudden 
to  give  them  counsel."  But  not  long  after,  he  was ;  for, 
being  a  great  pretender  to  enthusiasm  raid  revelations,  he 
told  then\   with  consummate  hypocrisy,    that   as   he  was 


CROMWELL.  58 

praying  for  a  blessing  from  God  on  his  undertaking  to  re- 
store tlie  king  to  his  pristine  majesty,  his  tongue  cleaved 
to  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  that  he  could  not  speak  one  word 
more  ;  which  he  took  as  a  return  of  prayer,  that  God  had 
rejected  him  from  being  king.  Many  applications  were 
made  to  Cromwell  for  saving  the  king's  life  ;  and  some  of 
the  passages  relating  to  them  are  worth  notice.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable,  which  greatly  illustrates  the  character 
of  the  man,  is  the  transaction  between  the  lieutenant- 
general  and  a  cousin  of  his,  colonel  John  Cromwell,  an 
officer  in  the  service  of  the  States.  This  gentleman  is  said 
to  have  been  in  England  while  the  king  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  army ;  and  tiiat,  in  a  conference  he  had  with  the 
lieutenant-general,  the  latter  made  use  of  this  expression, 
"  1  think  the  king  the  most  injured  prince  in  the  world;" 
and  then,  clapping  his  hand  upon  his  sword,  added,  "  But 
this,  cousin,  shall  do  him  right."  The  colonel  returning 
to  Holland  soon  after,  reported  what  he  took  to  be  truth, 
that  the  lieutenant-general  had  a  great  respect  for  the  king. 
When  therefore  the  news  of  the  king's  trial  reached  Hol- 
land, he  was  sent  over  with  letters  credential  from  the 
States,  to  which  was  added  a  blank  with  the  king's  signet, 
and  another  of  the  prince's,  both  confirmed  by  the  States, 
for  Cromwell  to  set  down  his  own  conditions,  if  he  would 
now  save  his  majesty's  life.  The  colonel  went  directly  to 
his  kinsman's  house  ;  who  was  so  retired  and  shut  up  ia 
his  chamber,  with  an  order  to  let  none  know  he  was  at 
home,  that  it  was  with  much  difficulty  he  obtained  admit- 
tance, after  he  had  d^^clared  who  he  was.  Having  mu- 
tually saluted  each  other,  the  colonel  desired  to  speak  a 
few  words  with  him  in  private;  and  began  with  much  free- 
dom to  set  before  him  the  heinousness  of  the  fact  then 
about  to  be  committed,  and  with  what  detestation  it  was 
looked  upon  abroad  ;  telling  him,  that  "  of  all  men  living 
he  could  never  have  imagined  he  would  have  had  any  hand 
in  it,  who  in  his  hearing  had  protested  so  much  for  the 
king."  To  this  Cromwell  answered,  "  It  was  not  he,  but 
the  army  ;  and  though  he  did  once  say  some  such  words, 
yet  now  times  were  altered,  and  Providence  seemed  to 
order  things  otherwise."  And  it  is  said  he  added,  that 
"  he  had  prayed  and  fasted  for  the  king,  but  no  return 
that  way  was  yet  made  to  him."  Upon  this  the  colonel 
stepped  a  little  back,  and  suddenly  shut  the  door,  which 
made  Cromwell  apprehend  he  was  going  to  be  assassinated; 


54  CROMWELL. 

but  pulling  out  his  papers,  he  said  to  him,  "  Cousin,  this 
is  no  time  to  trifle  with  words  :  see  here,  it  is  now  in  your 
own  power,  not  only  to  make  yourself,  but  your  family, 
relations,  and  posterity,  happy  and  honourable  for  ever  ; 
otherwise,  as  they  changed  their  name  before  from  Wil- 
liams to  Cromwell,  (which  was  the  fact,  as  appears  by  their 
pedigree),  so  now  they  must  be  forced  to  change  it  again: 
for  this  will  bring  such  an  ignominy  upon  the  whole 
generation  of  them,  as  no  time  will  be  able  to  deface,*' 
At  this  Cromwell  paused  a  little,  and  then  said,  "  I  desire 
you  will  give  me  till  night  to  consider  of  it  ;  and  do  you 
go  to  your  inn,  but  not  to  bed,  till  you  hear  from  me." 
The  colonel  did  accordingly  ;  and  about  one  in  the  morning 
a  messenger  came  to  tell  him  "  He  might  go  to  rest,  and 
expect  no  other  answer  to  carry  to  the  prince ;  for  the 
council  of  officers  had  been  seeking  God,  as  he  also  had 
done  the  same,  and  it  was  resolved  by  them  all  that  the 
king  must  die." 

The  government  being  now  entirely  changed,  for  in  five 
days  after  the  king's  death  the  house  of  lords  was  voted 
useless,  it  became  necessary  to  think  of  some  expedient 
for  managing  the  executive  power ;  and  therefore  it  was 
resolved  to  set  up  a  council  of  state,  of  which  John  Brad- 
$haw  was  president,  and  lieutenant-general  Cromwell  a 
principal  member.  But  before  he  had  well  taken  posses- 
sion of  this  new  dignity,  he  was  again  called  to  action  ; 
aqd  that  too  as  hazardous  as  any  in  which  he  had  hitherto 
been  concerned.  The  persons  he  had  to  engage  were  part 
of  the  army  he  commanded ;  who,  being  dissatisfied  on 
some  account  or  other,  set  forth  their  sentiments  by  way 
of  remonst;r?ince  presented  to  the  general.  For  this  high 
offence  they  were  seized,  and  tried  by  a  court  martial,  and 
sentenced  to  ride  with  their  faces  to  their  horses'  tails,  at 
the  head  of  their  respective  corps,  with  a  paper  expressing 
their  crime  fixed  on  their  breasts,  after  which  their  swords 
were  to  be  broke  over  their  heads,  and  themselves  cashiered ; 
every  circumstance  of  which  was  strictly  executed,  March  6, 
in  Great  Palace-yard.  This  served  only  to  increase  the 
flame  ;  for  several  regiments  of  horse,  and  among  the  rest 
Crorx^well's  own,  mutinied,  put  white  cockades  in  their 
hats,  and  iippointed  a  rendezvous  at  Ware  ;  where  Crom- 
well appeared,  when  he  was  least  suspected,  and  brought 
v/ith  him  some  regiments  quartered  at  a  distance,  that  he 
could  depend  on.     Here,  without  any  previous  expostu- 


CROMWELL.  55 

laiions,  he  with  two  regiments  of  horse  surrounded  one 
regiment  of  the  mutineers,  and  calling  four  men  by  name 
out  of  their  ranks,  obliged  them  to  cast  dice  for  their  lives; 
and  the  two  that  escaped  were  ordered  to  shoot  the  others, 
which  tiiey  did  ;  upon  which  the  rest  thought  fit  to  slip 
their  white  cockades  into  their  pockets,  and  to  secure 
themselves  by  a  submission.  The  same  spirit  of  mutiny 
broke  out  in  another  regiment  of  horse ;  but  it  was  entirely 
subdued  by  Cromwell,  and  the  fomenters  of  it  punished. 
After  this,  he  and  Fairfax  vi^ent  first  to  Oxford,  where  they 
were  made  doctors  in  civil  law ;  and  thence  to  London, 
where  they  were  splendidly  entertained  by  the  city,  and 
had  presents  of  great  value  when  they  took  leave.  At  this 
time  England,  if  not  quiet,  was  totally  subdued ;  the 
Scots  were  discontented,  but  not  in  arms ;  so  that  Ireland 
became  the  principal  object  of  the  parliament's  care,  since^ 
in  that  island,  of  three  parties  which  had  for  many  years 
been  shedding  each  other's  blood,  their  own  was  the 
weakest.  In  August,  therefore,  1649,  Cromwell  embarked 
with  an  army  for  Ireland,  where  his  successes,  as  in  Eng- 
land, were  attended  with  so  few  disappointments,  that,  by 
June  1650,  he  had  in  a  manner  subdued  the  whole  island. 
By  that  time  his  presence  was  required  in  England,  not 
only  by  those  who  wished  him  well,  but  even  by  his  most 
inveterate  enemies  ;  and  therefore  constituting  his  son-in- 
law  Ireton,  his  deputy,  he  took  ship  for  Bristol,  where, 
after  a  dangerous  passage,  he  safely  arrived,  leaving  such 
a  terror  upon  the  minds  of  the  Irish  as  made  every  thing 
easy  to  those  who  succeeded  him,  and  completed  the  con- 
quest of  that  country. 

His  return  to  London  was  a  kind  of  tri-umph  ;  and  all 
ranks  of  people  contended,  either  from  love  or  fear,  who 
should  shew  him  the  most  respect.  At  his  taking"^  his  seat 
in  the  house,  he  had  thanks  returned  him  for  his  services 
in  the  highest  terms.  When  these  ceremonies  were  over, 
they  proceeded  to  matters  of  greater  consequence  ;  for,  by 
this  time  the  parliament  had  another  war  upon  their  hands, 
the  Scots  having  invited  home  Charles  11.  and  prepared  an 
army  to  invade  England.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  par- 
liament would  readily  have  trusted  this  war  to  the  conduct 
of  lord  Fairfax,  a  brave  man  and  good  officer  ;  but  Fair- 
fax had  taken  the  covenant,  and  such  were  his  scruples, 
he  could  not  bring  himself  to  think  of  breaking  it,  by  at- 
tacking the  Scots  in  their  own  country,  Cromwell  thought. 


56  CROMWELL. 

and  rightly,  that  they  should  not  wait  for  an  invasion,  but 
prevent  one  invasion   by  another ;  and  therefore   pressed 
Fairfax  to  continue  in  his  command,  and  the  more  earnestly, 
because  he  knew  he  would  not   do   it ;  declaring  that  he 
thought  it  a   greater  honour  to  serve  as  his  lieutenant-ge- 
neral, than  to  command   in    chief  the   finest  army  in  the 
world.     Fairfax,  however,  remained  inflexible  in  liis  reso- 
lution ;  so  that,  June  26,  an  ordinance  passed  for  repealing 
his  commission,  and  at  the  same  timeanother  for  appointing 
Cromwell  general  and  commander  in  chief  of  all  the  forces 
of  the  commonwealth.     He  had  now  such  power  as  might 
have  satisfied  the  most  ambitious  mind  ;  for  though  he  of- 
fered to  resign   his  lieutenancy  of  Ireland,  the  parliament 
would  not  accept  it.     He  marched  with  an  army  to  Scot- 
land,   and    Sept.   3,    gained  the  victory  of  Dunbar,  than 
which  none  ever  did  him  greater  credit' as  a  commander. 
He  continued  the  war  all  the  winter  ;  in  the  spring  was  se- 
verely attacked   by  an    ague ;    of  which  recovering,   he, 
after  several  successes,  forced  the  king  into  England,  and 
blocked  him  up  in  Worcester.     Sept.  3,  1651,  he  attacked 
and  carried   that  city,   totally  defeated  the  king's  forces, 
and  gained  what  he  himself  called,  in  his  letter  to  the  par- 
liament, the  crowning  victory.     It  is  said,  that  this  signal 
stroke  of  success  took  Cromwell  a  little  off  his  guard.     He 
would    have   knighted    two    of  his  principal  commanders 
upon  the  field  of  battle,  and  was  with  difficulty  dissuaded 
from  it :  his  letter  to  the  parliament  on  this  occasion  was 
conceived  in  higher  and  loftier  terms    than   usual  :    and 
Ludlow  says,  that  his  behaviour  was  altered  from  that  day, 
and  that  all  who  were  about  him   observed  it.     It  is  cer- 
tain, nevertheless,  that  he  afterwards  behaved  with  great 
humility  and  submission  to  the  parliament  j  though  in  the 
mean  time  he   took  all  care  imaginable  to  make  the  army 
sensible  of  their  own  importance,  and  to  let  them  see  that 
nothing  could  divide  their  interests  from  his  own.     This 
was  the  true  foundation  of  his  growing  greatness,  and  of 
the  gradual  declension  of  the  parliament's  power;  which, 
though  they  clearly  discerned,  they  knew  not  how  to  pre- 
vent. 

He  did  not  remain  long  with  the  troops,  but  directed 
his  march  to  London  ;  where,  besides  many  considerable 
marks  of  honour  that  were  paid  him,  a  general  thanks- 
giving vvas  appointed  for  his  victory,  and  September  3d 
made  an  anniversary  state  holiday.     When  these  ceremo- 


CROMWELL.  57 

nies  and  acknowledgments  were  over,  lie  had  leisure  to 
look  about  him,  and  to  consider  his  own  condition  as  well 
as  that  of  the  nation.     lie  saw  himself  at  present  general 
and  commander  in  chief  of  a  great  army  in  E^igland,  and 
at  the  same  time  was  lord  lieutenant  of  Ireland.      But  then 
he  knew  that  all  this  was  derived  to  him  from  the  parlia- 
ment ;  and  he  clearly  discerned,  that,  whether  indepen- 
dents or  presbyterians  sat  there,  they  would   endeavour  to 
perpetuate  supreme  power  in  their  own  hands,  which  for 
many  reasons  he  disliked.     He  therefore  sifted  the  most 
eminent   persons,  in    order  to   find   out  their   sentiments 
about  the  establishment  of  the  kin^^dom  ;  which  was  a  new 
phrase  invented  to  cover  the  design  of  subverting  the  par- 
liament.    In  a  meeting  among  them,   held  some  time  after 
the  battle  of  Worcester,  he  proposed  the  question  fairly  ; 
when  some  declared  for  a  monarchy,  as  others  did  for  a 
commonwealth  :     but    this    conference   came    to  nothing. 
Nov.  7,  16  52,  meeting  the  lord  commissioner  Whitlocke  in 
the  Park,  he  entered  into  a  long  discourse  with  him  upon 
this  important  subject  :  in   which  he  undertook   to  shew 
Whitlocke,  that  the  parliament  was  now  become  a  faction; 
that  they  were  resolved  to  ruin  all,  and  to  rule  for  ever, 
merely  for  their  own   sakes  ;  that   they  gave  all  employ- 
ments  to    themselves,    their    relations,    aud    friends ;  that 
they  drew  every  thing  within  their  own  cognizance,  by 
which  the  subject  lost  the  benefit  of  the  law,  and  held  his 
property  by  a  precarious  tenure  ;  that,  all  this  considered, 
they  had  fought  themselves  into  a  worse  condition  ;  and 
that,  instead  of  a  monarch  with  a  prerogative  royal,  they 
had  now  many  masters,  who  made  laws  and  broke  them  at 
their  pleasure ;  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  army  was  very 
sensible  of  this  ;  that  they  bore  it  with  great  reluctance  ; 
that  they  too  had  great  disputes  among  themselves:  and 
that  it  could  not  be  long  before  those  mischiefs  broke  out 
into  a  new  flame.     Whitlocke  very  readily  agreed,  that  he 
had  described  both  parties  truly;  but  at  the  same  time 
acknowledged,    that,  notwithstanding  he   was  acquainted 
with  the  diseases  of  the  commonwealth,  he  was  entirely 
ignorant   of  any  right   method   of  cure.     "What,"    said 
Cromwell,    "  if  a    man   should   take   upon  himself  to  be 
king  ?"    Whitlocke  replied  by  shewing  him,  that  he  would 
get  nothing  by  it;  that  he  had  more  power  already  than, 
former  kings  ever  had  ;  and  that  by  assuming  the  name,  he 
might  run  great  hazard  of  losing  the  thing.     Cromwell 


58  CROMWELL. 

then  pressed  to  know,  what  he  would  hare  done  ?  Upon 
which  VVhitlocke  proposed  compromising  matters  with 
Charles  Stuart:  the  debating  of  which  Cromwell  declined, 
as  an  affair  of  much  difficulty.  Cromwell  had  many  con- 
versations of  this  sort  with  the  most  intelligent  of  all  par- 
ties, none  of  which  diverted  him  from  his  secret  purpose, 
to  possess  himself  of  the  regal  power,  under  some  name  or 
other. 

Notwithstanding  this,  he  behaved  in   public  with  great 
decency  and  duty  towards  that  body  of  men  he  was  con- 
triving to  remove.     The  whole  winter  of  1652  was  spent 
in  contrivances  and  cabals  on  both  sides ;  b}'  the  friends  of 
the  parliament  to  support  and  maintain  its  authority,  by 
their  opponents  to  bring  things  into  such  a  situation,  as  to 
render  the  necessity  of  dissolving  that  assembly  universally 
apparent.     April  19,    1653,  Cromwell  .called  a  council  of 
officers  once  more  to  debate  this  point;  in  which,  as  he  had 
many  friends,  so  he  had  also  some  opponents,  who  insinu- 
ated, that  what  he  did  proceeded  from  self-interest  and 
ambition.     Major-general  Harrison,  a  zealous  fanatic,  but 
absolutely  deceived   by  Cromwell,  assured  the  assembly, 
in  the  sincerity  of  his  heart,  that  "  the  lord-general  sought 
only  to  pave  the  way  for  the  government  of  Jesus  and  his 
saints;"   to    which   major   Streater  briskly   returned,  that 
''  then  he  ought  to  come  quickly;  for  if  it  was  after  Christ- 
mas, he  would  come  too  late."     Upon  this,  Cromwell  ad- 
journed the  meeting  till  the  next  morning,   when  a  new 
point  was  started,  whether  it  might  not  be  expedient  for 
the  house  and  the  army  to  appoint  twenty  persons  on  a 
side  to  be  intrusted  with  the  supreme  power  ?  In  the  midst 
of  this  dispute  advice  came  that  the  house  had  under  con- 
sideration their  own  dissolution  ;  and  upon  this,  such  as 
were  members  withdrew,  and  went  thither  to  promote  that 
design.     But  in   reality  the  parliament  had  framed  a  bill, 
to  continue  themselves  to  November  5th  of  the  next  vear, 
proposing  in   the  mean  time  to   fill  up  the  house  by  new 
elections.     Cromwell,  informed  what  the  house  was  upon, 
was  so  enraged,    that  he  left  the  council,  and  marched 
directly    with    a  party   of    300  soldiers  to    VVestminster. 
There  placing  some  of  them  at  the  door,  some  in  the  lobby, 
and  others  on   the  stairs,  he  went  into  the  house ;  and, 
addressing  himself  first  to  his  friend   St.  John,  told  jiim, 
that  *'  he  then  came  to  do  that  which  grieved  him  to  the 
very  soul,  and  what  he  had  earnestly  with  tears  prayed  tq 


C  R  O  M  W  ELL.  59 

God  against;  nay,  that  he  had  rather  be  torn  in  pieces 
than  do  it ;  hut  that  there  was  a  necessity  laid  upon  hinr 
therein,   in  order  to  the  glory  of  God,   and  the  good  of  the 
nation,"     I'hen   he  sat  down,   and  heard  their  debates  for 
some  time  on  the  forementioned  bill ;  after  which,  calling 
to  major-general  Harrison,  who  was  on  the  other  side  of 
the  house,  to  come  to  him,  he  told  him,  that  "  he  judged 
the  parliament  ripe  for  a  dissolution,  and  tins  to  he  the 
time  of  doing  it."     Harrison  answered,  "  Sir,  the  work  is 
very  great  and  dangerous  ;   therefore  I  desire  you  seriously 
to   consider  of  it  before  you   engage  in  it."     *'  You  say 
well,"  replied  Cromwell ;  and  thereupon  sat  still  for  about 
a  quarter  of  an  hour.     Then   the  question   being  put  for 
passing  the  said  bill,  he  declared  again  to  Harrison,   "  This 
is  the  time,  I  must  do  it :"  and  so  standing  up  of  a  sudden, 
he  bade  the  speaker  leave  the  chair,  and  told  the  house 
that  they  had  sat  long  enough,  unless  they  had  done  more 
good ;     that    some    of    them    were    ^vhoremasters,    others 
drunkards,  oihers  corrupt  and  unjust  men,  and  scandalous 
to  the  profession  of  the  gospel ;   that  it  was  not  fit  they 
should  sit  as  a  parliament  any  longer,  and  therefore  he 
must  desire  them   to   go  away.      He    charged  them  with 
not  having  a  heart  to   do  any  thing  for  the   public  good, 
and  with  being  the  supporters  of  tyranny  and  oppression. 
AVhen  some  of  the  members  began  to  speak,  he  stepped 
into  the  midst  of  the  house,  and  said,  "  Come,  come,   I 
will  put  an  end  to  your  prating  :"  then  walking  up  and 
down  the  house,  he  cried  out,   "  You  are  no  parliament,   I 
say,  you  are  no  parliament;"  and  stamping  with  his  feet, 
he  bid  them  for  shame  be  gone,  and  give  place  to  honester 
men.     Upon  this   signal    the  soldiers  entered  the  house, 
and  he  bade  one  of  them  take  away  that  bauble,  pointing 
to  the  mace  ;  and  Harrison  taking  the  speaker  by  the  hand, 
he  came  dovvn.     Then  Cromwell,  adtiressing  himself  again 
to  the  members,  who  were  al)out  an  hundred,  said,  " 'Tis 
you  that  have   forced  me  to    this  ;  for  I   have  sought  the 
Lord  night  and  day,  that  he  would  rather  slay  me,  than 
put  me  upon  the  doing  of  this  work."     And  then  seizing 
on  all  their  papers,  he  ordered  the  soldiers  to  see  the  house 
cleared  of  all  members  ;  and  having  caused  the  doors  to  be 
locked  up,  went  away  to   VVhitehall.     Here  he  found  a 
council  of  officers  still  assembled,  and  this  grand  point  vet 
in  debate:  upon  which  he  told  then)  roimdly,   "  tliey  need 
trouble  tliemselves  no  farther  about  it,  for  he  had  done  it." 


60  CROMWELL. 

*'  Done  what?"  replied  colonel  Okey,  who  was  not  one  of 
his  creatures  ;  and,  upon  his  telling  him,  expostulated  the 
point  warmly.  But  Cromwell  talked  so  much  louder  than 
he,  of  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  nation,  the 
removing  of  yokes  and  badges  of  slavery,  that  Okey  very 
soon  thought  proper  to  be  sdent,  and  to  wait  for  the  con- 
clusion of  the  affair.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
Cromwell,  attended  by  the  majors-general  Lambert  and 
Harrison,  went  to  the  council  of  state,  and,  finding  them 
sitting,  addressed  them  in  the  following  terms:  "  Geiule- 
men,  if  you  are  met  here  as  private  persons,  you  shall  not 
be  disturbed  ;  but,  if  as  a  council  of  state,  this  is  no  place 
for  you.  And  since  you  cannot  but  know  what  was  done 
at  the  house  this  morning,  so  take  notice,  that  the  parlia- 
ment is  dissolved."  Serjeant  Bradshaw  boldly  answered, 
"  Sir,  we  have  heard  what  you  did  at  the  house  in  the 
morning,  and  before  many  hours  all  England  will  hear  it. 
But,  sir,  you  are  mistaken  to  think  that  the  parliament  is 
dissolved,  for  no  power  under  heaven  can  dissolve  them 
but  themselves  ;  and  therefore  take  you  notice  of  that." 
Some  others  also  spoke  to  the  same  purpose  :  but  the 
council  finding  themselves  to  be  under  the  same  force,  all 
quietly  departed. 

The  true  reason  why  Cromwell  thus  dismissed  this  coun- 
cil of  state,  was,  because  he  intended  to  have  another  of 
his  own  framing  ;  these  being  men  entirely  devoted  to  the 
parliament,  from  whom  they  derived  their  authority.  He 
now  projected  such  measures  as  appeared  to  him  the  most 
proper  for  the  support  of  that  great  authority  which  he 
had  attained.  He  continued  for  a  few  days  to  direct  all 
things  by  the  advice  of  the  council  of  officers ;  but  after- 
wards a  nevv  council  of  state  was  called,  by  virtue  of  letters 
or  warraiits  under  the  lord-general's  hand.  But  this  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  fifth-monarchy  and  other  madmen,  soon 
dissolved  of  itself;  and  then  the  power  returned  into  the 
hands  of  Cromwell,  from  whom  it  came.  Harrison,  and 
about  twenty  more,  remained  in  the  house,  and  seeing  the 
reign  of  the  saints  at  an  end,  placed  one  Moyer  in  the 
speaker's  chair,  and  began  to  draw  up  protests ;  but  they 
were  soon  interrupted  by  colonel  White  with  a  party  of 
soldiers.  White  asking  them  what  they  did  there,  they 
told  him,  *'  they  were  seeking  the  Lord  ;"  to  which  he 
replied,  "  that  they  might  go  somewhere  else,  for  to  his 
knowledge,  the  Lord  had  not  been  there  many  years  ;" 


CROMWELL.  61 

and  so  turned  them  out  of  doors.  The  scene  thus  changed, 
the  supreme  power  was  said  to  be  in  the  council  of  officers 
again  ;  and    they  very  speedily  resolved,    that  the   lord- 
general,   with  a  select  council,  should  have  the  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs,  upon  the  terms  contained  in  a  paper, 
entitled  *'  The  Instrument  of  Government ;"  and  that  his 
excellency  should  be  protector  of  the  commonwealth  of 
England,    Scotland,    and   Ireland,    and  have   the  title  of 
Highness.     Accordingly  he  was  invested  therewith  Dec. 
16,   1653,  in  the  court  of  chancery  in  Westminster-hall, 
with  great  solemnity  ;  and  thus,  in  his  54th  year,  assumed 
the  sovereign  power,  which  he  well  knew  how  to  exercise 
with  firmness.    When  he  had  thus  reduced  the  government 
into  some  order  at  least,  he  proceeded   very  wisely  and 
warily  ;  appointed  a  privy-council,  in   which   there   were 
great  and  worthy  men,  who  he  knew  would  either  not  act 
at  ail,  or  not  very  long  with  him;  hut  their  names  giving 
a  sanction  for  the  present,  he  proceeded,  with  the  advice 
of  as   many  of  them    as   attended,  to  make  several  ordi- 
nances that  were  necessary,  as  also  to  dispose  matters  for 
the  holding  a  new  parliament.     He  applied  himself  also  to 
the  settlement  of  the  public  affairs,  both  foreign  and  do- 
mestic ;  he  concluded  a  peace  with  the  states  of  Holland 
and  Sweden  ;  he  obliged  the  king  of  Portugal,   notwith- 
standing all  that  had  passed   between   the  parliament  and 
bim,  to  accept  of  a  peace  upon  his  terms  ;  and  adjusted 
matters  with  France,  though  not  without  some  difficulty. 
As  to  affairs  at  home,  he  filled  the  courts  in  Westminster- 
hall  with  able  judges  ;  and  directed  the  lawyers  themselves 
to  make  such  corrections  in  the  practice  of  their  profession, 
as  might  free  them  from  public  odium.     The  same  mode- 
ration he  practised  in   church  matters ;  professing  an  un- 
alterable resolution  to  maintain  liberty  of  conscience.     He 
gave  the  command  of  all  the  forces  in  Scotland  to  general 
Monk,  and  sent  his  son  Henry  to  govern  Ireland.     By  an 
ordujance  dated  April  12,  1654,  he  united  England  and 
Scotland,   fixing  the  number  of  representatives  for  the  lat- 
ter at  30  ;  and  soon  after  he  did  the  same  by  Ireland.     He 
affected  to  shew  great  zeal  for  justice,  in  causing  the  bro- 
ther of  the  ambassador  from  Portugal  to  be  executed  for 
murder;    which  he  did  July  10,  in  spite  of  the  greatest 
application  to  prevent  it. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  pains  which  he  took  to  gain  the 
affections  of  the  people,,  he  found  a  spirit  rising  agains^t 


62  C  R  O  M  ^V  E  L  L. 

him   in   all  the  three   kingdoms ;  and  his   governiTient  so 
cramped  for  want  of  money,  tliat  he  was  under  an  absolute 
necessity  of  calling  a  parliament,  according  to  the  form 
which  he  had  prescribed  in  the  Instrument  of  Government. 
He  fixed  Sept.  3   for  the  day  on  which  they  were  to  as- 
semble, esteeming  it  particularly  fortunate  to  him  ;  and  to 
this  he  peremptorily  adhered,  though  it  happened  to  fall 
upon  a  Sunday.     The  parliament  was  accordingly  opened 
on  that  day,  after  hearing  a. sermon  at  Westminster-abbey, 
to  which  the  protector  went  in  very  great  state.     He  re- 
ceived this  house   of  commons  in    the  painted   chamber, 
where  he  gave  them  a  full  account  of  the  nature  of  that 
government  which  he  had  thought  fit  to  establish,  the  ends 
he  proposed,  and  the  means  he  had  used  to  promote  those 
ends,   (Sec.     When  they  came  to  the  house,  they  fell  to 
debating,  whether  the  supreme  legislative  power  of  the 
kingdom  should  be  in  a  single  person,   or  a  parliament ; 
which  alarming  the  protector,  who  found  himself  in  danger 
of  being  deposed  by  a  vote  of  this  new  parliament,  he 
caused  a  guard  to  be  set  at  the  door,  on  the   12th  of  the 
same  month,  to  prevent  their  going  into  the  house  of  com- 
mons; then  sent  for  them  into  the  painted  chamber,  where 
he  gave  them  a  very  sharp  rebuke  ;  nor  did  he  permit  any 
to  go  into  the  house  afterwards,  before  they  had  taken  an 
oath  to  be  faithful  to  the  protector  and  his  government. 
While  this  parliament  was  sitting,   an  odd  accident  hap- 
pened to  the  protector.     He  had  received  a  set  of  Fries- 
iand  horses  from  the  duke  of  Holstein  as  a  present;  and 
would    needs   drive  his   secretary  Thurloe  in    his   coach, 
drawn  by  these  horses,  round  Hyde  Park.     But  the  horses, 
proving  as  ungovernable  as  the  parliament,  threw  his  high- 
ness out  of  the  box,  and  in  his  fall  one  of  his  pocket  pis- 
tols went  off;  notwithstanding  which  he  escaped,  without 
either   wound   or  broken   bones.     By  the  Instrument   of 
Government,   the  parliament  was  to  sit  five  months;  but 
finding  they  were  about  to  take  away  his  power,  and  would 
give  him  no  money,  he,  Jan.  23,  sent  for  them  once  more 
into  the  painted  chamber,   where  after  a  long  and  bitter 
speech  he  dissolved  them. 

The  protector's  mother  lived  with  him  at  Whitehall,  and 
shared  in  the  splendour  of  his  court,  but  enjoyed  it  not. 
Though  she  troubled  him  but  little  with  her  remonstrances, 
her  fears  were  so  strong,  that  she  could  not  believe  he  was 
safe  if  she  did  not  see  him  twice  a  day ;  and  if  by  accident 


CROMWELL.  IS3 

she  heard  a  pistol  at  any  time  discharged,  she  could  not 
help  crying  out,  "  My  son  is  shot!"  She  died  Nov.  18, 
1654.  Cromwell  caused  her  vennains  to  be  interred  in 
Henry  Vllth's  chapel ;  but  this  was  contrary  to  her  desire, 
for  she  easily  foresaw  that  they  would  never  rest  in  peace 
there. 

The  opening  of  1655  proved  but  cloudy  :  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  parliament  created  much  discontent  in  the 
kingdom  ;  so  that  Cromwell  found  himself  beset  with  con- 
spiracies on  all  sides,  and  by  all  parties  ;  but  he  had  the 
good  luck  to  discover  them  before  they  could  be  executed. 
Upon  Feb.  13,  he  went  to  Guildhall;  and  declared,  that 
the  republicans  and  cavaliers  had  formed  designs  agrainst 
his  person.  Of  the  former,  major  John  Wildman,  who 
had  been  an  intimate  friend  of  his,  was  seized  while 
penning  a  paper,  entitled  "  A  declaration  of  the  people  of 
England  against  the  tyrant  Oliver  Cromwell ;"  and  other 
violent  men  of  that  party  he  imprisoned,  but  was  afraid  of 
doing  more.  As  to  the  royalists,  he  suffered  them  to  go 
on  a  little;  for,  by  the  help  of  one  Manning,  who  was  his 
spy  in  the  court  of  Charles  IL  he  was  so  well  acquainted 
with  their  projects,  as  to  put  them  upon  measures  which 
turned  to  his  own  account.  And  this  is  a  true  solution  of 
that  insurrection  which  broke  out  at  Salisbury,  where  the 
king  was  proclaimed,  and  Cromwell's  judges  seized  ;  which 
act  of  open  force  left  no  doubt  with  the  public,  that  there 
were  designs  against  the  protector.  For  this  insurrection 
several  persons  suffered  death;  and  hence  the  protector, 
who  had  hitherto  shewn  an  inclination  to  govern  as  a  law- 
ful prince  if  he  could,  seemed  to  lay  aside  his  disposition, 
and  no  longer  to  make  any  difficulty  of  supporting  his 
authority  in  any  manner  and  by  any  means.  In  the  spring 
of  this  year  was  carried  into  execution  that  famous  expe- 
dition, by  which  the  protector  hoped  to  make  himself 
master  of  the  Spanish  West  Indies;  where,  though  his 
forces  did  not  succeed  in  their  main  design,  yet  they  made 
themselves  masters  of  Jamaica,  which  island  has  remained 
ever  since  part  of  the  British  dominions.  I'he  alliance 
which  had  been  so  long  in  treaty  with  the  crown  of  France, 
was  signed  Nov.  24,  1655,  and  proclaimed  the2Sth;  by 
which  it  was  stipulated,  that  Cromwell  should  send  over  a 
body  of  English  troops,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the 
French  against  the  Spaniards  in  the  Low  Countries  ;  and 
that,  on  the  other  hand,   the  French  king  should  oblige 


€4  CROMWELL. 

the  royal  family  to  quit  his  doininions.  The  new  king  of 
Sweden  sent  over  an  ambassador  to  compliment  the  pro- 
tector. He  was  most  graciously  received  ;  but  the  in- 
tended visit  of  queen  Christina,  who  had  just  resigned  the 
crown,  he  judged  proper  to  avoid.  The  glorious  suc- 
cesses of  admiral  Biake  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  the 
great  sums  he  recovered  from  several  powers  for  depreda- 
tions committed  by  their  subjects  on  the  English  mer- 
chants, did  mi'.ch  honour  to  the  protector's  government ; 
and  to  conclu'ie  the  transactions  of  this  year,  it  must  be 
allowed,  that  hovv  much  soever  he  might  be  disliked  at 
home,  his  reputation  at  this  time  was  very  great  abroad. 

The  loss  he  sustained  in  the  discovery  of  Manning, 
whom  king  Charles  caused  to  be  shot-  for  corresponding 
with  Thurloe,  was  most  effectually  repaired  by  a  person  of 
superior  character,  who  was  chancellor  Hyde's  great  cor- 
respondent, and  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  most  active  and 
determined  royalists  in  England.  Though  the  war  with 
Spain  under  Blake's  management  had  brought  two  millions 
of  money  into  the  protector's  coffer,  he  still  felt  some 
wants,  wiiich  he  judged  nothing  but  a  parliament  could 
supply ;  and  having  concerted  more  effectual  methods,  as 
he  conceived,  for  bending  them  to  his  will,  than  had  been 
practised  before  the  last,  he  fixed  the  meeting  of  that 
assembly  Sept.  19,  1656.  It  met  accordingly  ;  but  with  a 
guard  posted  at  the  door  of  the  house,  who  suffered  none 
to  enter  till  they  had  taken  the  oaths  prepared  for  them, 
by  which  many  were  excluded.  The  parliament,  however, 
chose  a  speaker;  passed  an  act  for  disannulling  the  king's 
title,  another  for  the  security  of  his  highness's  person,  and 
several  money  bills :  for  all  which  the  protector  gave  them 
his  most  gracious  thanks.  About  the  close  of  this  year  a 
new  plot  was  either  discovered  or  invented,  for  which  one 
Miles  Sindercombe  was  condemned  ;  but  he  disappointed 
the  protector,  by  poisoning  himself  the  night  before  he 
was  to  be  executed.  In  the  spring  of  1657  it  plainly  ap- 
peared what  the  protector  aimed  at,  by  the  pains  he  had 
taken  with  the  parliament ;  for  now  a  kind  of  legislative 
settlement  of  the  government  was  upon  the  carpet,  under 
the  title  of  "  The  humble  Petition  and  Advice  *  ;"  in  which 
there  was  a  blank  for  the  supreme  governor's  title,  and  a 

*  See  the  principal  topics  in  tliis  Petition,  reduced  into  one  argument  by  Dr. 
Johnson,  ill  llic  Gent.  Mag.  3741,  p.  93. 


CROMWELL.  65 

clause  prepared  to  countenance  the  establishing  something 
like  peers,  under  the  name  of  the  other  house.  At 
length  the  whole  came  to  light ;  for  one  alderman  Pack,  a 
forward,  time-serving,  money-getting  fellow,  deep  in  all 
the  jobs  of  the  government,  moved  that  the  first  blank 
might  be  filled  with  the  word  King.  This  was  violently 
opposed  by  the  army-members  ;  but  at  length,  after  vari- 
ous debates,  carried,  as  well  as  the  clause  empowering  him 
to  make  something  like  lords;  and  in  this  form  the  petition 
was  presented  to  his  highness,  who  desired  some  time  to 
consider  before  he  gave  his  answer.  The  protector  would 
have  been  glad  to  have  had  the  kingship  forced  upon  him, 
but  that  he  found  some  of  his  best  friends  and  nearest  re- 
lations averse  to  it ;  who  carried  their  opposition  so  far,  as 
to  ])romote  a  petition  from  the  army  to  the  parliament 
against  it.  This  determined  Cromwell  to  refuse  that 
honour  which  he  had  been  so  long  seeking  ;  and,  therefore, 
May  8,  1657,  he  told  them  in  the  banqueting-house,  that 
he  could  not  with  a  good  conscience  accept  the  govern- 
ment under  the  title  of  king.  The  parliament  then  thought 
proper  to  till  up  the  blank  with  his  former  title  of  protector; 
and  his  highness  himself,  that  all  the  pains  he  had  taken 
might  not  absolutely  be  thrown  away,  resolved  upon  a  new 
inauguration,  which  was  accordingly  performed  June  2G, 
1657,  in  Westminster-hall,  with  all  the  pomp  and  solem- 
nity of  a  coronation.  After  this,  the  house  of  commons 
adjourned  to  Jan.  20th  following,  in  order  to  give  the  pro- 
tector tim.e  to  regulate  all  things  according  to  the  new  sys- 
tem ;  with  a  view  to  which  he  summoned  his  two  sons,  and 
others,  to  take  their  seats  in  the  other  house.  This  year 
hG  was  extremely  disconcerted  with  a  small  treatise,  which 
captain  Titus,  under  the  name  of  William  Allen,  published 
with  this  title,  "  Killing  no  Murder  :"  in  which  was  shewn, 
so  plainly,  that  one  who  had  violated  all  laws,  could  derive 
protection  from  no  law,  that  Oliver  thenceforward  be- 
lieved himself  in  continual  danger.  But  his  attempt  to  ap- 
prehend the  true  author  failed  of  success. 

In  the  beginning  of  1658  he  pleased  himself  with  the 
hopes  of  being  once  at  the  head  of  an  assembly  somewhat 
resembling  the  ancient  parliaments  of  England  ;  and,  pur- 
suant to  their  own  adjournment,  the  commons  met  Jan.  2Q, 
as  the  other  house  also  did,  agreeably  to  the  writs  of  sum- 
mons issued  by  the  lord  protector.  He  sent  for  them  by 
the  black  rod,  and  began  his  speech  with  the  pompous 

Vol.  XI.  F 


66  CROMWELL. 

words,  "  My   lords,    and   you    the  knights,  citizens,  and 
burgesses  of  the  house  of  commons,   &c."     All  this  only 
served    to  shew  that   his    administration    was    founded  in 
military  force,  and  nothing  else  :  for  the  ancient  nobility 
would  not  resume  their  seats  in  such  company  as  he  had 
assigned  them  ;  and  the  house  of  commons  would  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  the  new  nobles  in  the  other  house ;  and 
the  new  nobles  could  do  nothing  by  themselves.     Thus  in 
less  than  a  fortnight  the  new  system  was  in  a  fair  way  of 
being   pulled   to   pieces,  which   obliged  the  protector  to 
come,  Feb.  4th,  and  to  dissolve  them  with  great  bitterness 
of  speech  and  sorrow  of  heart :  for  now  he  plainly  saw  that 
a  regular  establishment  was  a  thing  impracticable.     Some 
farther  designs  against  him  were  soon  after  discovered,  not 
of  the  cavaliers  only,  but  of  the  fifth-monarchy  men  also.' 
With  the  latter  he  was  obliged  to  observe  some  measures  ; 
the  former  he  delivered  over  to  a  high  court  of  justice.  By 
the  sentence  of  that  court.  Dr.  Hewett,  a  divine  of  the 
church  of  England,  suffered  death  for  contumacy,  June  8, 
1658  ;  having  refused  to  plead,  or  to  own  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  court.     Aug.  6,  the  protector's  favourite  daughter 
Elizabeth,   wife  of  John  Claypole,  esq.  of  Narborougti  in 
Northamptonshire,   died,  which    aff"ected    him    greatly   on 
more  accounts  than  one.     For  her  illness  being  very  pain- 
ful, distempered  her  mind  not  a  little ;  and  in  her  deliri- 
ums she  exclaimed  vehemently  against  him  for  his  cruel- 
ties, and  especially  for  the  death  of  Dr.  Hewett,  on  whose 
behalf  she   had  made  the  most  importunate  intercession?. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  from  that  time  wholly  altered,  and 
daily  more  reserved  and  suspicious  :  and  indeed  not  with- 
out reason  ;  for  he  found  a  general  discontent  prevailed 
through  the  nation,  a  signal  disaff'ection   in  the  army,  and 
a   great  increase   of  the  influence  of  the  republicans,  to 
whom  some  of  his  relations,  and  even  his  wife,  inclined  : 
so  that  he  knew  not  which  way  to  turn,  or  what  to  expect. 
These  cares  bavins:  loncc  tormented  his  mind,  at  last  affected 
his  body ;  so  that  while  at  Hampton-court,  he  fell  into  a 
kind  of  slow  fever,  which  soon  degenerated  into  a  tertian 
ague.     For  a  week  this  disorder  continued   without  any 
dangerous  symptoms,  insomuch  that  every  other  day  he 
walked  abroad  ;  but  one  day   after  dinner  his  five  physi- 
cians coming  to  wait  upon  him,  one  of  them   having  felt 
his  pulse,  said  that  it  intermitted.     At  this  being  some- 
what surprised,  he  turned  pale,  fell  into  a  cold  sweat,  and 


CROMWELL.  67 

when  he  was  ahuost  fainting,  ordered  liimself  to  be  car- 
ried to  bed  ;  where,  by  the  assistance  of  cordials,  being 
brought  a  httle  to  iiiaiself,  he  made  his  will  with  respect 
to  his  private  affairs. 

It  is  impossible  to  have  a  better  account  of  his  last  sick- 
ness, than  that  given  by  Dr.  Bates,  who  was  his  physician. 
After  mentioning  the  circumstance  of  making  his  will,  h© 
tells  us,  that  the  next  morning  early,  when  one  of  his  phy- 
sicians came  to  visit  him,  he  asked  him,  "  why  he  looked 
so  sad  r"  and,  when  answer  was  made,  that  so  it  became 
any  one,  who  had  the  weighty  care  of  his  life  and  health 
upon  him  ;  "  Ye  physicians,"  said  he,  "  think  I  shall  die  : 
1  tell  you,  I  shall  not  die  this  time  ;  I  am  sure  of  it.  Do 
not  think,"  said  he  to  the  physician,  looking  more  atten- 
tively at  him  on  these  words  ;  "  do  not  think  that  I  am 
mad  ;  I  speak  the  words  of  truth  upon  surer  grounds  than 
Galen  or  your  Hippocrates  furnish  you  with.  God  Al- 
mighty himself  liath  given  that  answer,  not  to  my  prayers 
alone,  but  also  to  the  prayers  of  those  who  entertain  a 
stricter  commerce  and  greater  interest  with  him.  Go  on 
cheerfully,  banishing  all  sadness  from  your  looks ;  and 
deal  with  me  as  yon  would  do  with  a  serving-man.  Ye  may 
have  a  skill  in  tlie  nature  of  things,  yet  nature  can  do 
more  than  all  physicians  put  together ;  and  God  is  far 
more  above  nature."  He  was  then  desired  to  take  his  rest, 
because  he  had  not  slept  the  greatest  part  of  the  night; 
and  this  physician  left  liun.  But  as  he  was  coming  out  of 
the  chamber,  he  accidentally  met  another ;  to  whom  said 
he,  I  am  afraid  our  patient  will  be  light-headed.  "  Then 
(replied  the  other)  you  are  certainly  a  stranger  in  this 
house.  Do  not  you  know  what  was  done  last  night  ?  The 
chaplains,  and  all  who  are  dear  to  God,  being  dispersed 
into  several  parts  of  the  palace,  have  prayed  to  God  for  his 
health  :  and  have  brought  this  answer,  he  shall  recover." 
Nay,  to  such  a  degree  of  madness  they  came,  that  a  pub- 
lic fast  being  for  his  sake  kept  at  Hampton-court,  they  did 
not  so  much  pray  to  God  for  his  health,  as  thank  him  for 
the  undoubted  pledges  of  his  recovery ;  and  they  repeated 
the  same  at  Whitehall.  These  oracles  of  his  deluded  chap- 
lains were  the  cause  that  the  physicians  spake  not~a.  word 
of  his  danger.  Being  removed  to  London,  he  became 
much  worse,  grew  tirst  lethargic,  then  delirious;  and  after 
recovering  a  little,  but  not  enough  to  give  any  distinct  di- 
rections about  public  affairs,   he  died  Sept.  3,   165S,  aged- 

I  2 


63  C  R  O  M  W  E  L  L. 

somewhat  more  than  59  years.     A  little  before  his  death, 
the  physicians  awakened  the  privy-council,  by  representing 
the  danger  he  was  in ;  and  at  an  appointed  time  he  was 
urged  to  name  his  successor.     But  when  in  a  drowsy  fit  he 
answered  out  of  purpose,  they  again  asked  him,  if  he  did 
not  name  Kicharcl  his  eldest  son  for  his  successor  ?     To 
whicli  he  answered,  Yes.     Then  being  asked  where  his  will 
was,  which  heretofore  he  had  made  concerning  the  heirs  of 
the  kingdom,   lie  sent  to  look  for  it  in  his  closet  and  other 
places;  but  in  vain — for  he  had  either  burnt  it,  or  some- 
body had  stolen  it.     It  has  been  imagined  that  Cromwell 
was  poisoned,  but  without  any  reason.     Dr.  Bates  gives  us 
the  following  account  of  his  disorder  :   "  His  body  being 
opened,  in  the  animal  parts  the  brain  seemed  to  be  over- 
charged;  in  the  vitals  the  lungs  a  little  inflamed  ;  but  in 
the  natural,  the  source   of  the   distemper  appeared  ;  the 
spleen,   though  sound  to  the  eye,  being  within  filled  with 
matter  like  to  the  lees  of  oil.     Nor  was  that  inconsistent 
with  the  disease  he  had  for  a  long  time  been  subject  to  ; 
since,  for  at  least  thirty  years,   he  had  at  times  complained 
of   hypochondriacal   indispositions.      Though    his    bowels 
were  taken  out,  and  his  body  filled  with  spices,  wrapped 
in  a  fourfold  cere-cloth,  put  first  into  a  coffin  of  lead,  and 
then  into  one  of  wood,  yet  it  purged  and  wrought  through 
all,  so  that  there  was  a  necessity  of  interring  it  before  the 
solemnity  of  the  funeral."     A  very  pompous  funeral  was 
ordered  at  the  public  expence,  and  performed  from  So- 
merset-house, with  a  splendour  superior  to  any  that  has 
been    bestowed   on   crowned    heads.     Some  have  related, 
that  his  body  was,   by  his  own   particular  order,  secretly 
buried  in  Naseby  field  ;  others  that  it  was  wrapped  in  lead, 
and  sunk  in  the  deepest'  part  of  the  Thames,  to  prevent 
any    insult  that  might  be  offered  to  it;  others  that  it  was 
taken  from  the  gallows  after  the  restoration,  and  deposited 
ill  the  family-vault  of  the  Claypoles,  at  Narborough  near 
Peterborough.     From   the  account  of  what  passed    upon 
the  order  to  disinter  him  after  the  restoration,  it  seems  that 
his  body  was  interred  at  Westminster.     "  In  the  middle 
aile  of  Henry  VIFs  chapel,   at  the  east  end,   in  a  vault, 
was  found  his  corpse.     In  the  inside  of  the  coffin,  and  upon 
the  breast  of  the  corpse,  was  laid  a  coppcr-pUite  finely 
gilt,,  inclosed  in  a  thin  case  of  lead;  on  the  side  whereof 
were  engraven  the  arms  of  England,  imj)alcd  with  the  arms 
ul  Oliver;  mii  on  the  reveri^c  the  following  i^^gcnd :  Oli- 


CROMWELL.  69 

v^ius  protector  reipublicae  Angliae,  Scotiae,  &  Hibcrniie, 
uatus  25  April  1599,  inauguratus  16  Decembris  1653, 
mortuus  3  Septembris  ann.  1658,  Hie  situs  est."  But 
this  iu  some  writers  is  considered  as  a  delusion  ;  and  that 
some  other,  if  not  the  body  of  Charles  L  was  inclosed  in 
this  coffin,  which  is  still  a  greater  delusion  and  absurdity, 
as  a  very  recent  discovery  proves.  It  has  also  been  said, 
that  the  body  of  his  daughter  Claypole  was  found  at  the 
same  time  and  place,  with  a  silver  plate  with  an  inscrip- 
tion ;  but  the  workmen  quarrelling  about  this  plate,  it  was 
thrown  into  the  vault  again.  The  inscription  on  it,  how- 
ever, was  shewn  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  1738,  by 
Dr.  Cromwell  Mortimer,  whose  father  married  to  his  first 
wife  a  daughter  of  Richard  Cromwell.  The  plate  on  Oli" 
ver's  coffin  was  in  1773  in  the  possession  of  the  hon.  George 
Hobart,  of  Nocton,  in  Lincolnshire,  and  shewn  to  the 
same  society  by  Mr.  Wills,  and  is  engraved  in  Mr.  Noble's 
Memoirs  *. 

Odious  as  Cromwell's  reign  had  been,  many  marks  of 
public  approbation  were  bestowed  upon  his  memory.  The 
poems  of  Waller,  Sprat,  and  Dryden,  though  the  authors 
lived  to  change  their  sentiments,  give  a  very  high  idea  of 
him,  but  allowance  must  be  made  for  poetical  evidence. 
In  his  life-time  his  actions  had  been  celebrated  by  the 
learned  abroad,  as  well  as  by  his  own  secretary  Milton  at 
home ;  and  with  these  panegyrics  he  seems  not  to  have 
been  displeased.  We  have  indeed  various  characters  of 
him  from  persons  of  various  sentiments  ;  yet  in  most  of 
these  there  seems  to  be  a  mixture  of  flattery  or  prejudice. 
His  panegyrists  knew  not  where  to  stop  their  praises  ;  and 
his  enemies  were  as  extravagant  in  their  censures.  Lord 
Hoilis,  in  his  "  Memoirs,"  will  hardly  allow  him  any  great 
or  good  qualities;  and  one  principal  design  of  Ludlow's 
Memoirs  is  to  represent  him  as  the  vilest  ot  men.  Cowley 
seems  to  have  excelled  all  others,  as  well  in  respect  to  the 

*  The  protector's  body,  with  that  of  Charles's  death,  when  the  tliree  were 

Ireton's,  by  a  vote  of  the  house  of  com-  conveyed  upon  sled{;es  to  Tybciin,  nitd 

mons,  was  taken  up,  Saturday  Jan.  '26,  haiige.d  up  on  the  gallons  tdi  .sun  sel, 

1660  ;  and  on  the  Monday  night  follow-  then  beheaded,  and  ilieir  ti  uiiks  ilnown 

ing  they   were   drawn    in    two   several  into    a    liole    under   the   gallows,    and 

carts  to  the  Red  Lion  Inn    iit  llolborn,  their  heads  set  upon  poles  upon  the  to|» 

where  they  remained  all  night.      Brad-  of    Westminster-hail,    where    Oliver's 

shaw's,  included  in  the  same  sentence,  long  remained.     OliveV's  scull  is  shewn 

as   he    had    presided     at    the    trial    of  in  different  places,  a   j)roi)f   prob;vbly 

Charles   I.   was   not  taken   up  till  the  that  none  of  Ihciu  are  genuine, 
morning  foUowinij,  the  anniversary  of 


70  C  R  O  M  VV  E  L  L. 

matter  as  the  manner  of  representing  him  in  the  different 
lights  of  praise  and  censure ;  so  that  his  performance  may 
justly  be  esteemed  the  most  perfect  of  any,  as  it  is  beyond 
comparison  the  most  beautiful.  It  is  said,  that  cardinal 
Mazarine  styled  him  a  fortunate  madman  :  but  father  Or- 
leans, who  relates  this,  dislikes  that  cliaracter,  and  would 
substitute  in  its  place  that  of  a  judicious  villain.  Claren- 
don calls  him  a  brave,  wicked  man  :  and  Burnet  is  of  opi- 
nion, that  "  his  life  and  his  arts  were  exhausted  together; 
and  that,  if  he  had  lived  longer,  he  would  scarce  have  been 
able  to  preserve  his  power."  But  this  only  proves,  that 
the  bishop  did  not  discern  what  resources  he  had.  "  How 
blameworthy  soever  the  protector  might  have  been  in  the 
acquisition  of  his  high  office,  or  how  vvickedly  soever  he 
acquired  it,  certain  it  is,  he  rivalled  the  greatest  of  the 
English  monarchs  in  glory,  ahd  made  himself  courted  and 
dreaded  by  the  nations  around  him.  The  peace  he  gave 
the  Dutch  was  honourable  to  himself  and  the  nation  ;  and 
whether  he  acted  prudenily  or  not  in  breaking  uith  Spain, 
and  allying  himself  with  France,  the  inequality  between 
the  two  crowns  was  far  from  being  as  visible  then  as  it  has 
since  appeared,  and  Cromwell  always  had  it  in  his  power 
to  throw  himself  into  the  opposite  scale  if  necessary  ;  and 
he  distinguished  himself  by  his  interposition  in  beiialf  of 
the  persecuted  subjects  of  the  French  crown.  His  own 
government  was,  however,  far  from  being  free  from  blame. 
His  edict  against  the  episcopal  clergy  was  very  cruel,  as  it 
deprived  them  in  a  good  measure  of  their  maintenance, 
and  liberty  of  worshiping  God  in  a  way  that  appeared  best 
to  their  own  understandiuGfs.  The  cavaliers  had  hard  mea- 
sure  from  him,  as  they  were  almost  without  exception  sub- 
jected to  heav}^  taxes  and  other  inconveniences,  on  account 
of  the  rashness  and  imprudence  of  some  of  their  party. 
Nor  must  we  forget  his  institution  of  major-generals,  who, 
in  a  variety  of  instances,  lorded  over  an  oppressed  country; 
nor  his  sometimes  making  use  of  packed  juries,  and  dis- 
placing judges  for  refusing  to  follow  his  directions,  esta- 
blishing high-commission  courts,  and  so  frequently  viola- 
ting the  privileges  of  parliament."  Concessions  like  these 
make  part  of  the  character  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  as  drawn 
by  Mr.  Harris,  a  professed  advocate:  but  when  he  attempts 
to  vindicate  his  illegal  and  tyrannical  actions,  on  the  ground 
of  his  being  disappointed  of  regal  power,  and  that  had  he 
accepted  the  kingship,   which   was  offered  by  his  parlia- 


CROMWELL.  71 

ment,  a  firmer  settlement  and  a  milder  administration 
mic'ht  have  taken  place,  there  seems  little  reason  to  doubt 
but  the  support  even  of  that  rank,  considering  the  danger- 
ous and  uncertain  terms  on  which  he  must  have  held  it, 
would  have  urged  him  to  the  same  violent  and  unwarrant- 
able measures.  Such  biographers  as  Harris  are  generally 
employed  in  striking  a  balance  between  good  and  bad 
deeds  ;  but  it  is  not  a  few  of  the  former  that  can  redeem  the 
character  of  Cromwell,  who  has  been  more  justly  said  to 
be  the  strangest  compound  of  villainy  and  virtue,  baseness 
and  magnanimity,  absurdity  and  good  sense,  that  we  find 
upon  record  in  the  annals  of  mankind. 

In  his  public  way  of  living,  there  was  a  strange  kind  of 
splendour  at  Whitehall ;  for  sometimes  his  court  wore  an 
air  of  stately  severity  ;  at  other  times  he  would  unbend 
himself,  and  drink  freely — never  indeed  to  excess,  but  only 
so  far  as  to  have  an  opportunity  of  sounding  men's  thoughts 
in  their  unguarded  moments.  Sometimes,  in  the  midst  of 
serious  consultations,  he  started  into  buffoonery  ;  some- 
times the  feasts  that  were  prepared  for  persons  of  the  first 
distinction,  were,  by  a  signal  of  drums  and  trumpets,  made 
the  prey  of  his  guards.  There  was  a  kind  of  madness  in 
his  mirth,  as  well  as  of  humour  in  his  gravity,  and  much  of 
design  in  all.  Some  have  commended  him  for  keeping  up 
a  great  face  of  religion  in  his  court  and  through  the  na- 
tion :  but  it  is  not  easy  to  know  what  they  mean  :  certain 
it  is,  that  religion  never  wore  so  many  faces  as  in  his  time  ; 
nor  was  he  pleased  to  discover  which  face  he  liked  best. 
The  presbyterians  he  hated  ;  the  church  of  England  he 
persecuted;  against  the  papists  he  made  laws;  but  the 
sectaries  he  indulged.  Yet  some  of  the  presbyterian  di- 
vines he  courted  ;  affected  kindness  to  a  few  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  church  of  England  ;  and  entered  into  some  very 
deep  intrigues  with  the  papists.  This  made  sir  Kenelm 
Digby's  favourite  father  White  write  in  defence  of  his 
government,  and  even  of  his  conduct ;  and  the  popish  pri- 
mate of  Ireland  sent  precepts  through  all  his  province 
under  his  seal,  to  pray  for  the  health,  establishment,  and 
prosperity  of  the  protector  Cromwell  and  his  government. 
With  regard  to  personal  religion,  it  would  be  dithcult  to 
find,  or  even  to  conceive,  an  instance  of  more  consummate, 
impudent  hypocrisy  than  Cromwell  exhibited,  or  a  more 
unfeeling  contempt  for  every  thing  that  deserves  the  name 
of  religion,  when   it  interfered  with  the  purposes  of  his 


t2  CROMWELL. 

ambition.  As  for  the  judges  in  Westminster-hall,  he  dif-^ 
fered  with  St.  John,  and  \vas  sometimes  out  of  humour* 
with  Hale.  He  set  up  high  courts  of  justice  unknown  to 
the  lav,  and  put  Dr.  Hewett  to  death  for  not  pleading  be- 
fore one  of  them,  though  he  oft'ered  to  pleadj  if  any  one  that 
sat  there,  and  was  a  lawyer,  would  give  it  under  his  hand, 
that  it  was  a  legal  jurisdiction  ;  and  Whitlocke  himself 
owns,  thatj  though  he  was  named  in  the  commission,  he 
would  never  lilt,  because  he  knew  it  was  not  lawful.  His 
majors-general,  while  they  acted,  superseded  all  law  ;  and 
the  protector  himself  derided  Magna  Charta,  so  much  re- 
spected by  our  kings.  He  was  indeed  kind  to  some 
learned  men.  Milton  and  Marvel  were  his  secretaries.  He 
would  have  hired  Meric  Casaubon  to  have  written  his  his- 
tory ;  and  have  taken  the  famous  Hobbes  into  his  service 
for  writing  the  Leviathan,  probably  because  in  that  cele- 
brated work  power  is  made  the  source  of  right  and  the 
basis  of  religion — the  foundation  on  which  CromwelTs  sys- 
tem, as  well  as  Hobbes's,  was  entirely  built.  He  gave 
archbishop  Ushr-r  a  public  funeral  in  Westminster-abbey  ; 
yet  he  paid  but  half  the  expence,  and  the  other  half  proved 
a  heavy  burden  upon  that  prelate's  poor  family.  And 
when  all  this  is  allowed  to  so  inflexible  a  tyrant,  how  much 
is  deducted  from  the  infamy  that  attaches  to  his  character? 
The  most  execrable  of  mankind  are  never  uniform  in  vil- 
lainy. 

For  his  conduct  towards  foreign  courts,  it  is  certain  that 
he  carried  his  authority  very  far ;  and  perhaps  the  English 
honour  never  stood  h'gher.     The  queen  of  Sweden  paid 
great  respect  to  him,  who,  to  express  his   regard  for  her 
on  the  other  side,  hung  her  picture  in  his  bed-chamber. 
He  treated  veiy  haughtily  the  kings  of  Denmark  and  Por- 
tugal ;  and  obliged  the  ambassador  of  the  latter  to   come 
and   sign  the  peace  at  Whitehall,  the  very  morning   his 
brother  was  executed  on  Tovver-hilh      He  refused  the  title 
of  cousin  from  the  French  khig,  expecting  that  of  brother; 
and   so  artfully  played  the  Spaniard   with  him  at  a  critical 
conjuncture,  that  the  two  crowns  contended  for  his  friend- 
ship with  an  earnestness  which  made  them  both  ridiculous. 
Their  advances  were  so  extraordinary,   and  their  acts  of 
submission   so   singidar,    that  the   Dutch  struck  a  medal, 
with  the  bust  of  Cromwell  and  his  titles  on  one  side,   with 
Britannia  on  the  other,  and  Cromwell  laying  his   head  in 
her  lap  with  his  breeches  down  and  his  posteriors  bare,  the 


CROMWELL.  78 

Spanish  ambassador  stooping  to  kiss  them,  while  the  French 
amoassatlor  holds  him  by  the  arm,  with  these  words  in- 
scribed, "  Retire  toi,  Thonneur  appartient  au  roi  mon 
niaiire  :"  that  is,  "  Keep  back  ;  that  iionour  belongs  to  the 
king  my  master." 

Very  little  of  Cromwell's  private  life  is  known  ;  he  being 
near  forty  years  of  age  when  he  first  distinguished  himself 
in  opposing  the  project  for  draining  of  the  fens.     Yet  there 
were  some  who  knew  and  understood  him  thoroughly,  be- 
fore his   extraordinary  talents   were   made  known   to  the 
world  ;  and   in  particular  his   cousin  Hampden,   of  which 
the  foUowin":  was  a  remarkable  instance.     When  the  de- 
bates  ran  high  in  the  house  of  commons,  and   Hampden 
and  lord  Digby  were  going  down  the  parliament  stairs, 
witli  Cromwell  just  before  them,  who  was  known   to  the 
latter  only  by  sight  :  "  Pray,"  said  his  lordship  to  Hamp- 
den,  "  who  is  tiiat  man,  for  I  see  that  he  is   on  our  side, 
by  his  speaking  so  warmly  to-day?"    "That  sloven,"  re- 
plied Hampden,  "  whom  you  see  before  us,  who  has  no 
ornament  in  his  speech  ;  that  sloven,  1  say,  if  we  should 
ever  come  to  a  breach  with  the  king,  which  God  forbid  ! 
in  such  a  case,  I  say,  that  sloven  will  be  the  greatest  man 
in  England."     This  prophecy,  which  was  so  fully  accom- 
plished,   rose   chiefly   from   the    sense   Hampden    had   of 
Cromwell's  indefatigable  diligence  in  pursuing  whatever 
he  undertook.      He  had  another  quality,  which  was  equally 
useful  to  him  ;  that  of  discerning  the  temper  of  those  with 
whom  he  had  to  deal,  and   dealing  with  them  accordingly. 
Before  he  became  commander  in  chief,  he  kept  up  a  very 
high  intimacy  with  the  private  men  :  taking  great  pains  to 
learn  their  names,  by  which  he  was  sure  to  call  them  ; 
shaking  them  by  the  hand,  clapping  them  on  the  shoulder; 
or,  which  was  peculiar  to  him,   giving  them  a  slight  box  on 
the  ear;  which  condescending  fanuliarities,  with  the  warm 
concern  he  expressed  for  their  interests,  gave  him  a  power 
easier  conceived  than  described.     He  tried  to  inveigle  the 
earl  of  Manchester ;  but  finding  that  impracticable,  he  fell 
upon  him  in  the  house  of  commons,  and  procured  his  re- 
moval.     He  carried  himself  with  so  much  respect  to  Fair- 
fax, that  he  knew  not  liow  to  break  with  him,   though  he 
knew  that  he  had  betrayed  him      He  not  only  deceived 
Harrison,   Bradshaw,  and  Ludlow,  but  outwitted  Oliver  St. 
John,  who  had  more  parts  than  them  all  ;  and  he  foiled  sir 
Henry  Vane  with  his  own  weapons.     In  short,  he  knew 


74  CROMWELL. 

men  perfectly,  worked  them  to  his  purposes  as  if  they 
had  been  cattle,  and,  which  is  still  more  wonderful,  did 
that  often  while  they  conceived  that  they  were  making  a 
tool  of  him.  He  had  a  reach  of  head,  which  enabled  him 
to  impose  even  upon  the  greatest  bodies  of  men.  He  fed 
the  resentment  of  the  house  of  commons  against  the  army, 
till  the  latter  were  in  a  flame,  and  very  angry  with  him ; 
yet,  w^hen  he  came  to  the  army,  it  was  u])on  a  flea-bitten 
nag,  all  in  a  foam,  as  if  he  had  made  his  escape  from  that 
house  ;  in  which  trim  he  signed  the  engagement  of  Trip- 
loe  heath,  throwing  himself  from  his  horse  upon  the  grass, 
and  writing  his  name  as  he  lay  upon  his  belly.  He  had 
yet  another  faculty  beyond  these  ;  and  that  was,  the  art  of 
concealing  his  arts.  He  dictated  a  paper  once  to  Ireton, 
which  was  imposed  upon  the  agitators  as  if  founded  upon 
their  instructions;  who  sent  it  express  by  two  of  their  num- 
ber to  Cromwell,  then  lieutenant-general,  at  his  quarters 
at  Colchester.  He  was  in  bed  when  they  came  ;  but  they 
demanded  and  obtained  admittance.  When  they  told  him 
their  commission,  he  asked  them,  with  the  greatest  rage 
and  resentment  in  his  look,  how  they  durst  bring  him 
papers  from  the  army  ?  They  said,  that  paper  contained 
the  sense  of  the  army,  and  they  were  directed  to  do  it. 
f*  Are  you  sure  of  that  ?"  said  he,  with  the  same  stern 
countenance,  "  Let  me  see  it."  He  spent  a  long  time  in 
reading  it;  and,  as  it  seemed  to  them,  in  reflecting  upon 
it;  then,  with  a  mild  and  devout  look,  he  told  them  it  was 
a  most  just  thing,  and  he  hoped  that  God  would  prosper 
it ;  adding,  "  I  will  stand  by  the  army  in  these  desires  vvitl\ 
my  life  and  fortune." 

With  such  arts  and  qualities  as  these,  joined  to  his  great 
military  skill  and  reputation,  we  may  account  for  all  his 
successes,  and  that  prodigious  authority  to  which  he  raised 
himself,  without  havinsr  recourse  to  that  contract  of  his 
with  the  devil,  of  which,  as  Echard  pretends,  colonel 
Lindsey  was  eye  and  ear-witness.  In  the  course  of  liis 
lile  he  was  temperate  and  sober,  and  despised  those  who 
were  not  so.  In  his  family  he  shewed  great  kindness,  but 
without  any  diminution  of  his  authority.  He  was  very  re- 
spectful to  his  mother,  and  very  tender  to  his  wife  ;  yet 
iieiiher  had  any  influence  over  him.  He  expressed  a  deep 
sense  of  the  concern  which  the  former  discoveretl  for  his 
danger,  heard  whatever  she  said  to  him  patiently,  but 
acted  as  he  thought  proper,  and,  in  respect  to  her  burial, 


CROMWELL.  75 

directly  against  her  dying  request.    His  wife  is  said  to  have 
made  a  proposition  lending  to  restore   the   king  ;  but  he 
rejected  it  unmoved,  as  he  had  shewn  himself  before,  when 
his  son  Richard  threw  himself  at  his  feet,   to  dissuade  him 
from  taking  the  king's  life.      He  did  not  seem   otfended  at 
applications  of  the  same  kind  from  other  persons,  as  from 
Whitlocke,  thongli  that  gentleman  thought  he  lost  his  con- 
fidence  by  it  ;   irom  the   marquis   of   Hertford,   whom   he 
treated  very  respectfully  ;  and  from  Dr.  Brownrig,   bishop 
of  Exeter,   to  whom  he  shewed  more  kindness  than  to  any 
other  man  of  his  rank  and  profession.     Asking  advice  once 
of  this  prelate,   "  My  advice,"   said  he  to  him,  "  must  be 
in  the  words  of  the  Gospel  :   '  Render  to  Ca-sar  the  things 
that  are  CiEsar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's  ;" 
to  which  Cromwell  made  no   reply.      He   shewed   a  great 
respect  for  learning  and  learned  men,  without  affecting  to 
be   learned   hiuiself.      His   letters,    however,  are   the   best 
testimonies  of  his  parts;   for  they  are  varied  in  their  style 
in   a   wonderlul    manner,   exactly  adapted   to  the  purposes 
for  which  they  were  written,  and  the  persons  to  whom  they 
were  addressed.     A  great  number  of  them  are  to  be  found 
in  Thurloe's  and  Nichols's  collections,  as  well  as  in  Rush- 
worth    and   W'iiitlocke.      His   public   speeches   were   long, 
dark,  and  perplexed  j  and  though  mixed  with   the  cant  of 
the  times,  yet  have  sentiments   in  tiiem  which  shew  a  su- 
periority of  understanding.     Several  of  these  are  in  Whit- 
locke's   "  Memorials."      In   his  conversation   he   was   easy 
and  pleasant,   and  could  unbend  himself  without  losing  his 
dignit}-.      He  made  an   excellent  choice    in   those  he  em- 
ployed, but  trusted  none   of  them   farther   than    was  ne- 
cessary. 

It  may  seem  strange,  that  in  drawing  together  his  cha- 
racter, there  should  be  nothing  said  of  his  principles  as  to 
government  or  religion  ;  but  the  real  truth  js,  that  neither 
can  be  discovered  with  certainty.  We  know  that  he  hated 
a  commonwealth,  and  the  presbyterians  ;  but  what  his 
sentiments  were  in  other  respects,  it  is  not  possible  to  say. 
When  he  recollected  himself  after  the  follies  of  his  youtli, 
there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  he  had  serious  impressions 
of  religion  ;  and  there  seem  to  i)e  very  strong  proofs  that 
he  was  afterwards  tinctured  with  enthusiasm.  It  is  im- 
possible to  suppose  him  a  fanatic  in  the  time  of  his  elcva- 
vation  ;  it  were  more  reasonable  to  suppose  him  gradually 
to  have  lost  all  sense  of  religion,   and  only  to   have   pre- 


76  C  R  O  M  W  E  L  L. 

served  the  mask  of  it,  for  the  better  carrying  on  his  de« 
signs,  and  managing  the  different  parties,  as  we  have  be- 
fore noticed.  It  is  idle  indeed  to  dispute  on  the  religion 
of  a  man  who  rose  to  greatness  by  a  succession  of  actions, 
both  in  conception  and  execution,  radically  criminal. 
Clarendon  mentions  his  speaking  kindly  of  bishops,  as  if 
there  was  something  good  in  that  order,  if  the  dross  was 
scoured  off ;  and  seems  to  think  he  was  in  earnest.  But 
the  whole  of  his  life  proves  that  he  was  not  steady  to  any 
form  of  religion,  supposing  him  to  have  retained  any  prin- 
ciples at  the  bottom  ;  and  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt 
that  the  true  meaning  of  these  flattering  words,  was,  his 
design  to  return  to  the  old  form  of  government;  for  what- 
ever he  intended,  this  was  his  great  aim.  He  did  not 
overturn  the  constitution  to  leave  it  in  ruins,  but  to  set  it 
up  again,  and  himself  at  the  head  of  it;  and  though  he 
compared  his  own  government  at  first  to  that  of  a  high  con- 
stable, yet  all  he  laboured  at  afterwards,  was  plainly  to 
get  the  chaos  new  formed,  and  his  own  authority  sanctified 
by  the  regal  title,  and  the  appearance  of  a  legal  parlia- 
ment. 

He  had  many  children,  of  whom  six,  Richard,  Henry, 
Bridget,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  and  Frances,  survived  to  ad- 
vanced age.  Richard,  his  eldest  son,  was  born  Oct.  4, 
1626.  His  father  has  been  censured  for  keeping  him  at  a 
distance  from  business,  and  giving  him  no  employment ; 
but  for  this  perhaps  there  was  not  any  just  ground.  He 
married  him  to  a  daufjliter  and  coheir  of  Richard  Major, 
of  Hunley,  in  Hampshire,  esq.  who  brought  him  a  good 
fortune.  He  suffered  him  to  pursue  the  bent  of  his  incli- 
nations, and  to  lead  the  life  of  a  plain,  honest,  country 
gentleman  ;  which  for  a  time  was  highly  suitable  to  his 
own  interest,  as  it  seemed  to  correspond  with  the  terms  of 
the  Instrument  of  Government ;  and  with  the  dislike  which 
the  protector,  when  first  so  called,  liad  expressed  of  he- 
reditary right.  When  he  had  afterwards  brought  about  a 
change  in  affairs,  he  altered  his  conduct  towards  Jiis  son  ; 
named  him  the  first  lord  in  his  other  house ;  resigned  to 
him  the  chancellorship  of  Oxford  ;  and  conferred  upon  him 
all  the  honours  he  could.  His  weak  and  harmless  reign  is 
well  known.  On  his  dismission  from  the  protectorate,  he 
resided  some  time  at  Pezenas,  in  Langucdoc,  and  after- 
wards went  to  Geneva.  Sometime  in  1G80,  he  returned 
to  England,  and  for  some  time  took  the  name  of  Richard 


CROMWELL.  77 

Clark,  and  resided  at  Cheshunt,  in  Hertfordshire,  where 
he  died  July  13,  1712.  In  1705  he  lost  his  only  son,  and 
became  in  right  of  him  possessed  of  the  manor  of  Horsley, 
which  had  belonjied  to  his  mother.  Richard,  then  in  an 
advanced  age,  sent  one  of  his  daughters  to  take  possession 
of  the  estate  for  him.  She  kept  it  for  herself  and  her 
sisters,  allowing  her  father  only  a  small  annuity  out  of  it, 
till  she  was  dispossessed  of  it  by  a  sentence  of  one  of  the 
courts  of  VV'estminster-hall.  It  was  I'equisite  for  this  pur- 
pose, that  Richard  should  appear  in  person  ;  and  tradition 
says,  that  the  judge  who  presided,  lord  Cowper,  ordered 
a  chair  for  him  in  court,  and  desired  him  to  keep  on  his 
hat :  this  last  circumstance  appears  wholly  incredible.  As 
Richard  was  returning  from  this  trial,  curiosity  led  him  to 
see  the  house  of  peers,  when,  being  asked  by  a  person  to 
whom  he  was  a  stranger,  if  he  had  ever  seen  any  thing  like 
it  before,  he  replied,  pointing  to  the  throne,  "  Never  since 
I  sat  in  that  chair." 

Oliver's  second  son,  Henry,  born  Jan,  20,  1627,  he 
sent  over  into  Ireland,  where  he  raised  him  gradually  to 
the  post  of  lord  lieutenant.  Though  in  tbis  he  seemed  to 
give  him  the  preference  to  Richard,  yet  in  reality  he  used 
him  more  harshly  ;  for  though  his  abilities  were  good,  his 
manners  irreproachable,  and  his  submission  exemplary, 
yet  he  paid  no  great  deference  to  his  recommendations, 
and  allowed  him  as  little  pouer  as  could  well  be  imagined. 
This  son  died  March  25,  IG74,  having  married  a  daughter 
of  sir  Francis  Russel,  of  Chippenham,  in  Cambridgeshire. 
He  was  buried  in  the  church  of  Wicken,  in  the  same  county, 
in  which  Spinney-abbey,  his  mansion-house,  stood,  and 
has  tbis  simple  epitaph  in  the  chancel  :  "  Henricus  Crom- 
well de  Spinney  obiit  23  die  Martii,  anno  Christi  1673, 
annoque  a:tatis  47."  His  lady  died  April  7,  1687,  aged  52, 
and  was  buried  by  him.  Cromwell  married  all  his  daughters 
well,  and  was  kind  to  their  husbands  ;  but  it  is  said  that  he 
gave  them  no  fortunes,  Bridget,  his  eldest,  first  married 
commissary-general  Ireton,  and  after  his  decease,  lieutenant- 
general  Fleetwood.  Cromwell  is  said  never  to  have  had 
but  one  confidant,  and  that  was  Ireton,  whom  he  placed 
at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Ireland,  where  he  died  of  the 
plague  in  1651,  This  daughter  was  a  republican,  as  were 
her  two  husbands,  and  consequently  not  quite  agreeable 
to  her  father  ;  otherwise  a  woman  of  very  good  sense,  and 
regular  in  her  behaviour.     By  Ireton  she  had  one  daughter 


78  CROMWELL. 

of  her  own  name,  married  to  Mr.  Bendish.  Elizabeth, 
his  second  and  favouiite  daugliter,  uas  born  in  1630,  and 
married  John  Claypole,  esq.  a  Northamptonshire  gentle- 
man, whom  the  protector  made  master  of  the  horse, 
created  a  baronet  in  1657,  and  appointed  him  one  of  his 
lords.  Mary,  his  third  daughter,  born  in  1636,  was  mar- 
ried with  great  solemnity  to  lord  Fauconberg,  Nov.  18, 
1657  ;  but  the  same  day  more  privately  by  Dr.  Hewett,  ac- 
cording to  the  office  in  the  common  prayer-book.  She 
was  a  lady  of  great  beauty,  and  of  a  very  high  spirit ;  and, 
after  her  brother  Richard  was  deposed,  is  thought  to  have 
promoted  very  successfully  the  restoration  of  king  Charles; 
for  it  is  remarkable,  that  all  Cromwell's  daughters,  except 
the  eldest,  had  a  secret  kindness  for  the  royal  family,  of 
which,  however,  he  was  not  ignorant.  Lord  Fauconberg 
was  sent  to  the  Tower  by  the  committee  of  safety,  and 
was  in  very  high  favour  with  Charles  IL  He  was  raised 
to  the  dignity  of  an  earl  by  king  William,  and  died  Dec. 
3  1,  1700.  His  lady  survived  him  to  March,  1712,  and 
distinguished  herself  to  her  death,  by  the  quickness  of  her 
wit  and  the  solidity  of  her  judgment.  Frances,  the  pro- 
tector's youngest  daughter,  was  married  first  to  Mr.  Ro- 
bert Rich,  grandson  to  the  earl  of  Warwick,  in  1657,  who 
died  Feb.  Ibth  following;  and,  secondly,  to  sir  John 
Russel,  of  Chippenham,  in  Cambridgeshire,  by  whom  she 
had  several  children,  and  lived  to  a  great  age.' 

CRONSTEDT  (Axel  Fuederic),  a  Swedi.sh  mine- 
ralogist, and  one  of  the  first  who  improved  that  science 
by  applying  chemistr}'  in  the  decomposition  of  mineral 
substances,  was  born  in  Sudermania  in  1722,  and  educated 
at  the  university  of  Upsal,  where  he  joined  to  his  other 
studies,  an  uncommon  predilection  for  natural  history,  and 
especially  mineralogy,  which  was  the  cause  of  his  being 
much  employed  in  tlie  royal  college  of  mines,  and  being 
frequentl}?  sent  to  inspect  those  of  Sweden  and  Norway. 
In  1753  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  academy  of  Stock- 
holm, and  contributed  several  papers  on  mineralogical 
subjects,  particularly  on  nickel,  which,  by  some  expe- 
riments made  in  1751  and  1754,  he  showed  to  contain  a 
new  semi-metal,  or  at  least  that  a  rei{ulus  different  from  all 

'  Biog.  Frit. — History  ai  England. — A  miuute  account  of  Cromwell's  Bio- 
graphers may  be  seen  in  Mr.  Nobit^'s  Memoirs,  vol.  I.  p.  '■2\)X  ;  atul  much  iiifor- 
matioii  of  every  kind  in  tliese  voiviines. 


C  R  O  N  S  T  E  D  T.  -y 

others  was  obtainable  from  its  ore.  Cronstedt  died  Auji. 
19,  1765.  His  principal  work,  which  is  well  known  in  this 
country  by  translations,  was  "  An  Essay  towards  a  System 
of  Mineralogy,"  originally  published  in  1758,  translated 
from  the  Swedish  by  Engestrom,  and  from  that  into  Eng- 
lish by  Emanuel  da  Costa,  1770,  8vo.  Of  tiiis  a  second 
edition,  greatly  improved  by  the  addition  of  the  modern 
discoveries,  and  by  a  new  arrangement  of  the  articles,  was 
published  at  London  in  1788,  by  John  Hyacinth  de  Ma- 
gellan, 2  vols.  8vo. ' 

CROOKE.     SeeCROKE. 

CROONE.     See  CROUNE. 

CROSS,  or  DE  LA  CRUX  (Michael),  an  English 
artist,  and  famous  copier  of  paintings,  flourished  in  the 
reigns  of  Charles  L  and  Charles  H.  Being  employed  by 
the  first  of  these  kings  to  copy  several  eminent  pieces 
in  Italy,  and  having  leave  of  the  state  of  Venice  to  copy 
the  celebrated  Madonna  of  Raphael  in  St.  Mark's  church, 
he  performed  the  task  so  admirably  well,  that  he  is  said 
to  have  put  a  trick  upon  the  Italians,  by  leaving  his  copy, 
and  bringing  away  the  original;  and  that  several  messen- 
gers were  sent  after  him,  but  that  he  had  got  the  start  of 
them  so  far  as  to  carry  it  clear  off.  This  picture  was  after- 
wards, in  Oliver  Cromwell's  days,  bought  by  the  Spanish 
ambassador,  when  the  king's  collection  was  exposed  to 
sale.  Cross  copied  likewise  Titian's  Europe,  and  other 
celebrated  pieces,  very  successfully.  He  must  be  distin- 
guished from  Lewis  Cross,  who  died  1724,  and  of  whom  it  is 
recorded  that  he  re-painted  a  little  picture  of  Mary  queen  of 
Scots,  in  the  possession  of  the  duke  of  Hamilton,  and  was 
ordered  to  make  it  as  handsome  as  he  could.  He  made 
the  face  a  round  one.  For  many  years  it  was  believed 
^n  original,  and  innumerable  copies  have  been  made 
from  it." 

CROSSE,  or  CROSS  (John),  a  Franciscan  friar  and 
popish  missionary  in  England,  was  chaplain  to  king 
James  II.  and  followed  the  abdicated  monarch  to  St. 
Germain's  in  1688,  where  he  died  a  few  years  after.  He 
was  esteemed  to  be  a  man  of  parts,  and  published  :  1.  "  A 
Sertnon  before  the  king  and  queen  at  St.  James's  palace," 
1686.  2.  "  Cynosura,  or  the  Miserere  psalm  paraphrased," 
thin  folio.     3.  "  Divine  Poems."     4.  "  Piiilothcus's  Pil- 

1  Diet.  Hist,  9  Pilkinglon.— Walpole's  Painters. 


80  C  R  O  U  N  E. 

giimage  to  perfection,  in  a  practice  of  ten  days  solitude,'* 
Bruges,  1668.' 

CROUNE,  CROON,  or  CRONE  (William),  an  emi- 
nent physician  and  benefactor  to  the  science,  was  born   in 
London,  and   educated    at   Emanuel  college,   Cambridge, 
where  he  was  admitted   a  pensioner  Mny    13,    1647,  and 
took  the  decree  of  B.  A.  in    1 650.     In  1651  he  was  elected 
a  fellow,   and  commenced  M.  A.  in  1654,     In  1659,  being 
now  settled  as  a  physician  in  London,  he  was  chosen  rhe- 
toric professor  in  Gresham  college,  and  at  the  first  meeting 
of  the  royal  society,  Nov.  28,   1660,  was  (Uiough  absent) 
appointed   their  register,   whose  business  was  to  make  mi- 
nutes of  what  passed  at  their  meetings.     In  this  office  he 
remained  till  the  grant  of  their  charter,  when  Dr.  Wilkins 
and  Mr.  Oldenburg  were  nominated  joint  secretaries.     On 
Oct.  7,  1662,  he  was  created  M.  D.  at  Cambridge,  by  ro\'al 
mandate ;  and  in  May  1663  was  chosen  one  of  the  first  fel- 
lows  of  the  royal  society,  and   frequently  afterwards  was 
one   of  the  council.     The  same  year  he  was   admitted  a 
candidate  of  the   college  of  physicians.     In  1665   he  tra- 
velled   into  France,  and   became  acquainted  with  several 
eminent  and  learned  pnen  of  that  nation.     In  yVugust  1670, 
he  was  chosen  by  the  company  of  surgeons  their  lecturer 
on  anatomy,  which  he  held  to  his  deatii  ;  but  this  year  he 
resigned  his  Gresham  professorship,  which  could  be  held 
only  by  a  bachelor,  and  soon  after  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  John  Lorimer,  of  London,  esq.     In    1674  and    1675  he 
read  his  "  Theory  of  Muscular  Motion,"  in   the  theatre  of 
Surgeons'-hall,  an  abstract  of  whicli  was  afterwards  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Hooke  in   his  "  Philosophical  Collections.'" 
In  July  1675,  he  was  admitted   a  fellow  of  the  college  of 
physicians,  after  he  had  waited  for  a  vacancy  upwards  of 
twelve  years.     He  was  much  esteemed  as  a  physician,  and 
came  into  great  practice  in  the   latter  part   of  his  life,  on 
which  account  the  loss  of  him   was  much  regretted  by  the 
citizens  of  London.     He  died  of  a  fever  Oct.    12,    1684, 
and  was  buried  in  St.  Mildred's  church  in  the  Poultry,   in 
a  vault  belonging  to  the  Lorimer  family,  with  an  inscrip- 
tion on  black    nmrble,  on   the   pavement  in   the  chancel. 
His  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  John  Scott,  rector 
of  St.  Peter-le-Poor,  Broad-street,  in  which  he  gives  him 
a  very  high  character,  not  only  for  learning,  but  those 

1  Dodd's  Ch,  History,  vol.  III-^The  Cat,  Bibl,  Bod!,  calls  Cross,  Mckolat. 


C  R  O  U  N  E.  81 

more  amiable  attributes  of  a  pbysician,  tenderness  and 
kindness  to  tlie  poor.  He  died  rich,  and  besides  many- 
benevolent  legacies,  left  his  medical  books  to  the  college 
ot  physicians,  and  his  mathematical  collection  to  Emanuel 
college.  His  printed  \V()rks  are  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions  ;  and  many  of  his  MSS.  are  in  the  British 
Museum  (see  Ayscough's  Cat.  under  the  articles  Crone, 
Croon,  and  Croun).  He  printed  separately  only  one 
tract,  "  De  ratione  motus  musculorum,"  Lond.  1664,  4to  ; 
Amst.  1667,  12mo,  without  his  name  in  either  edition.  He 
left  to  Emanuel  and  six  other  colleges  at  Cambridge,  a  sum 
of  money  to  found  algebra  lectures,  which  took  place  in 
1710.  This  le<i[acv,  althoufrh  a  continofent  on  the  death  of 
his  wife,  was  liberally  settled  by  her  in  her  life-time.  He 
also  left  a  j)lan  of  an  annual  lecture  on  muscular  motion 
before  the  royal  society,  which  was  also  carried  into  exe- 
cution by  Mrs.  Croun.  The  first  lecture  was  read  in  1738, 
by  Dr.  Alexander  Stuart,  physician  to  the  queen,  and  has 
been  continued  ever  since.  These  lectures,  for  a  consi- 
derable number  of  years,  have  been  regularly  published 
in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  and  have  been  drawn 
up  b}'  the  most  eminent  physiologists,  who  were  members 
of  the  societ}-,  and  contain  a  great  collection  of  very  cu- 
rious and  important  facts,  respecting  the  muscles  and  their 
motions.  The  Crounian  lecture  is  endowed  with  the  pro- 
fits of  a  house  in  Old  Fish-street.* 

CROUSAZ  (John  Peter  de),  an  eminent  philosopher 
and  mathematician,  descended  from  a  noble  family,  was 
born  at  Lausanne,  April  13,  1663.  His  father  was  Abra- 
ham de  Crousaz,  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  fusileers  :  in  his 
youth  being  of  a  very  delicate  habit,  he  was  not  too  closely 
confined  to  his  studies,  yet  left  school  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen with  the  reputation  of  a  good  scholar.  His  father, 
who  intended  him  for  the  army,  had  him  educated  in  the 
branches  of  knowledge  necessary  for  that  profession  ;  but 
finding  him  averse  to  any  pursuit  unless  that  of  literature,  he 
allowed  him  to  follow  his  inclination.  In  his  fifteenth  year 
he  completed  his  course  of  philosophy,  and  distinguished 
himself  by  his  theses,  but  being  dissatisfied  with  the  phi- 
losophy then  taught,  he  had  recourse  to  the  writings  of 
Des  Cartes,  which  he  studied  with  avidity,  and  applied  at 

1  Ward's  Oresham  Professors. — Dr.  Scott's  SvVmon,  4t.o. — ^Thomson's;  Hist. 
•  f  the  Royal  Sociatv. 

Vol.  XI.     '  G 


82  C  R  O  U  S  zV  Z, 

the  same  time  to  mathematics,  but  scliolastic  theology  had 
no  more  charms  for  him  than  the  philosophy  he  had  been 
taught.  In  his  sixteenth  year,  liowever,  he  entered  as  a 
student  of  divinity,  attended  the  l)est  professors,  both  at 
Geneva  and  Lausanne,  and  read  the  opinions  of  other 
eminent  divines  on  the  subjects  most  involved  in  contro- 
versy. In  March  1682  he  went  to  Leyden,  made  himself 
acquainted  with  the  theological  disputes,  and  endeavoured 
to  investigate  how  far  they  could  be  deteru)ined  by  the 
sacred  scriptures.  Leaving  Holland,  he  entered  France, 
became  acquainted  with  those  celebrated  protestant  di- 
vines Claude  and  Menard,  at  Charenton,  and  fathers 
Malebranche  and  le  Vassor  at  Paris,  who  in  vain  endea- 
voured to  bring  him  over  to  the  Roman  catholic  churcli, 
which  Vassor  himself  forsook  some  years  after.  On  his 
return  to  liis  native  country,  in  J  684,  Crousaz  married  the 
daughter  of  John  Lewis  Loys,  comptroller-general,  and 
soon  after  was  ordained,  and  made  honorary  professor. 
He  officiated  as  pastor  in  the  church  of  Lausanne  f  r  four- 
teen years.  During  this  time,  in  1691,  he  was  appointed 
to  dispute  for  the  professorship  of  Hebrew  at  Berne,  which 
he  performed  with  great  credit,  h)  1699  he  was  made 
professor  of  Greek  and  philosophy,  and  although  also  no- 
minated to  the  chair  of  divinity  in  1700,  he  preferred  that 
of  philosophy.  In  1706  he  was  appointed  rector  of  the 
college,  which  office  he  held  three  years,  ai*d  was  again 
appointed  in  1722,  but  held  it  then  only  two  years,  as  it 
interfered  too  much  with  his  literary  engagements.  It  was 
during:  this  second  rectorate,  that  contests  arose  at  Lau- 
sanne  respecting  the  obligation  of  signing  the  Consensus, 
a  formulary  ot"  faith  and  doctrine  maintained  in  the  pro- 
testant cliurches  of  Swisserland,  an  account  of  which  may 
be  seen  in  "  Memoires  pour  servir  a  I'histoire  des  troubles 
arrives  en  Suisse  a  Toccasion  du  Consensus,"  Amst.  1726; 
and  more  brietty  in  Mosheim's  History.  In  1705,  from  hi& 
own  theses,  and  those  published  at  the  expence  of  the 
lords  of  Berne,  he  compiled  a  system  of  logic,  in  twenty- 
two  theses,  4to,  and  in  the  same  and  two  following  years 
published  an  abridgment  of  this.  In  1712  he  publisiied  in 
French,  a  system  of  logic,  entitled  "  Systeme  de  re-^ 
flexions  qui  peuvent  contribuer  a  la  nettcte  et  a  Tetude  de 
nos  connoissances,"  Amst  2  vols.  Svo,  reprinted  there  in 
1720,  3  vols.  12mo  ;  in  1725,  in  4  vols.  ;  and  in  1741,  in 
6  vols.     In  1724  he  published  an  abridgment  of  it  in  Latin, 


c  R  o  u  s  A  z.  as 

at  Geneva,  "  Systema  Logicae,  juxta  principia  ab  autore 
ill  Gallico  opere  posita."  Some  conversations  on  the  sub- 
ject of  beauty  in  art,  led  him  to  an  investigation  of  the 
subject,  and  produced  in  1715,  his  "  Trait6  du  Beau,  ou 
I'on  montre  en  quoi  consiste  ce  que  i'on  nomnie  ainsi,  par 
ties  examples  tires  de  la  plupart  des  arts  et  des  sciences,'* 
reprinted  at  Amst.  2  vols.  12mo.  In  1718,  he  published 
an  ironical  work,  "  Nouvelles  maximes  sur  l' Education  des 
enfans,"  Amst.  8vo  ;  but  in  1722,  his  more  serious  and 
better  known  work  on  Education,  Hague,  1722,  2  vols. 
12mo.  In  1718  he  answered  the  deistical  Collins's  dis- 
course of  Freethinking,  in  "  Examen  du  traite  de  la  libert6 
de  penser,"  Amst.  8vo.  In  the  same  year  he  published 
his  first  mathematical  work,  "  Geometric  des  lignes  et  des 
surfaces  rectiliones  et  circulaires,"  Amst,  2  vols.  8vo. 

h^  1724  he  was  invited  to  the  professorship   of  mathe- 
matics   and   philosophy  at    Grohingen,  with   a  salary    of 
1500  Dutch  florins;  and  when  the  lords  of  Berne  granted 
him  permission  to  accept  this  office,  they  also  allowed  his 
son  to  fill  the  chair  at  Lausanne  for  a  year  ;  during  which 
he  might  see   whether  the  air   ofGrouingen  agreed  with 
him.     He  departed  accordingly,  and  in  October  took  pos- 
session of  his  new  professorship  with  a  discourse  "  De  lo- 
gical cum  physica,  et  dc  mathesKos  cum  utraque,  et  utri- 
usque  cum  mathesi  reciproco  nexu,"  which  was  afterwards 
printed.      In  1726  he  was  chosen  a  foreign  associate  of  the 
royal  academy  of  sciences  at  Paris,  and  the  same  year  was 
selected  as  tutor  to  prince  Frederick  of  Hesse  Cassel,  which 
occasioned  him  to  remove  to  Cassel ;  and  he  superintended 
the  education  of  his  illustrious  pupil  until  1732,   in  which 
year  the  king  of  Sweden  made  him  counsellor  of  his  em- 
bassies.    In  September  of  the  same  year  he  went  to  Ge- 
neva with  his  pupil,  and  after  a  year's  residence  there  re- 
turned to  Lausanne.     The  king  of  Sweden  sent  him  a  very 
polite    letter    of   acknowledgement    for  the   services    he 
had  rendered   the  prince,  who  was   the    king's    nephew, 
and  prince  William  of  Hesse-Cassel,  father  to  prince  Fre- 
derick, continued  to  Crousaz  his  pension  of  884  crowns  as 
lonsr  as  he  lived.     In  1735  Crousaz  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  royal  academy  of  sciences  at  Bourdeaux  ;  and   in 
1737  he  was  unanimously  elected  to  the  vacant  professor- 
ship of  philosophy  at  Lausanne;  and  the  lords  of  Berne 
permitted  him  to  employ  a  deputy  when  he  found  age  and 
infirmities  creep  on,  and  continued  to  him  his  title  of  pro- 

G  2 


84  C  R  O  U  S  A  Z. 

«  fessor  and  his  salary,  even  when  he  was  obliged  to  declirre 
ail  its  duties.  As  late  as  1740,  however,  we  find  that  he 
continued  to  enjoy  health  and  activity,  but  died  in  Way 
1750,  deeply  regretted  as  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  his 
time,  a  man  of  great  piety,  and  an  acute  and  successlul 
opponent  of  infidelity  in  every  shape. 

Besides  the  works  already  mentioned,  he  published,  1. 
.*'  Cinq  Sermons  sur  la  verite  de  la  religion  Chretienne," 
with  a  sixth  on  the  plague  at  Marseilles,  1722,  8vo.  2. 
"  Nouveau  volume  des  Sermons,"  1723,  8vo.  3.  "  Sum- 
nia  Logical,"  Groningen,  1724.  4. "  Compendium  Logicie," 
Groningen,  1725.  5.  "  De  physicne  utilitate."  6,  '*  Ten- 
tamen  novum  metaphysicuni."  7.  "  Reflexions  sur  I'usage 
et  sur  Tabus  du  jeu."  8.  "  Sermon  sur  la  gloire  de  ceux 
qui  connoissent  I'evangile,  et  qui  s'y  soumettent."  9. 
*'  Essai  de  rhetorique  contenu  dans  la  traduction  de  quatre 
harangues  de  Tite-Liv£.'*  10.  "  Essai  sur  le  mouvement." 
These  last  six  articles  were  printed  at  Groningen  in  1725. 
11.  "Reflexions  sur  rutiiitc  des  mathematiques,"  Amst. 
1725.  12.  "  De  mente  humana,  &c.  dissert,  phiiosophico- 
theologica,"  Groningen,  1726,  12mo.  13.  «  Traite  d'Al- 
gebra,"  Paris,  1726.  14.  "  Examen  du  Pyrronisme  ait- 
cienne  et  moderne,"  Hague,  1734,  fol.  an  able  confutatioti 
of  Bayle  and  other  free-tliinkers.  15.  "  Systeme  de  Lo- 
gique  abrege,"  with  a  preface  on  tiie  use  and  abuse  of 
abridgments,  Lausanne,  1735.  16.  "  Oeuvres  diverses,'' 
.1737,  2  vols.  17.  "  Horatii  logica,"  Lausanne,  1739.  IH. 
*'Traitede  I'esprit  huiwain,  &c."  Basil  1741,  against  Leib- 
nitz and  \'/olfl'.  19.  "  Reflexions  sur  la  belie  Wolfienne," 
1743,  on  the  same  subject.  20.  Various  prize  dissertations 
which  received  that  honour  in  tlie  academy  of  Bourdeaux. 
21.  "  Dissertation  sur  le  principe  du  mouvenient,"  to  whicli 
the  academy  of  Paris  adjudged  the  prize  in  1720,  printed 
at  Paris,  1722,  4to.  22.  "  Commentaire  sur  Tunalyse  des 
inlinimens  petits." 

Two  of  M.  de  Crousaz's  publications  yet  remain,  and 
require  particular  notice:  his  "Examen  de  I'lLssai  sur 
I'homme,  poeme  de  M.  Pope,"  Lausanne,  1737;  aud 
"  Commentaire  sur  la  traduction  en  vers  de  M.  Tabbe  ilu 
Resnel,  de  Tessai  de  M.  Pope,"  Geneva,  1738,  12mo.  In 
these  M.  Crousaz  accuses  Mr.  Pope  of  Spinosism  and  na^ 
turalism,  and  the  first  of  them  was  immediately  translated 
into  English  by  the  celebrated  Miss  Carter,  with  some  as- 
sistance from  Dr.  Johnson,  and  published  under  the  title  of 


C  R  O  U  S  A  Z.  85 


« 


An  Examination  of  Mr.  Pope's  Essay  on  Man  ;  contain- 
ing a  succinct  view  of  the  system  of  the  fatalists,  and  a  con- 
futation of  their  opinions  ;  with  an  ilkistr;\tion  of  the  doc- 
trine of  free-will,  and  an  inquiry  what  view  Mr.  Pope  might 
have  in  touching  upon  the  Leibnitzian  philosophy  and  fa- 
talism," 1738,  Svo.  The  other  was  translated  under  the 
title  of  "  A  Commentary  on  Mr.  Pope's  Principles  of  Mo- 
rality, or  Essay  on  Man.  By  M.  Crousaz  ;  with  the  abbe 
du  Resnel's  translation  of  the  Essay  into  French  verse,  and 
the  English  interlined  :  also  observations  on  the  French, 
Italian,  and  English  Poetry,"  1741,  Svo.  Pope,  who  had 
got  the  principles  of  the  Essay  from  Bolingbroke,  and  did 
not  understand  them,  would  have  made  but  a  sorry  figure 
in  this  controversy  had  he  not  found  in  Warburton  a  vi- 
gorous defender,  although  it  is  said  that  he  had  once  writ- 
ten a  censure  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Essay  on  Man.  He 
now  stept  forth,  however,  with  a  defence,  which  was  first 
published  in  a  monthly  literary  journal  (The  Republic  of 
Letters),  but  was  .afterwards collected  into  a  volume  (1742, 
12mo),  written  with  more  asperity  than  argument.  "  Crou- 
saz," says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  was  no  mean  antagonist;  his 
mind  was  one  of  those  in  which  philosophy  and  piety  are 
happily  united.  He  was  accustomed  to  argument  and  dis- 
quisition, and,  perliaps,  was  growti  too  desirous  of  detect- 
ing faults  ;  but  his  intentions  were  always  right,  his  opi- 
nions were  solid,  and  his  religion  pure.  His  incessant  vi- 
gilance for  the  promotion  of  piety  disposed  him  to  look 
with  distrust  upon  all  metaphysical  systems  of  theology, 
and  all  schemes  of  virtue  and  happiness  purely  rational  ; 
and  therefore  it  was  not  long  before  he  vvaj  persuaded  thac 
the  positions  of  Pope,  as  they  terminated  for  the  most  part 
in  natural  religion,  were  intended  to  draw  mankind  away 
from  revelation,  and  to  represent  the  whole  course  of  things 
as  a  necessary  concatenation  of  indissoluble  fatality;  and 
it  is  undeniable,  that  in  many  passages  a  religious  eye  may 
easily  discover  expressions  no't  very  favourable  to  morals 
or  to  liberty."  The  consequence  to  Pope  was,  that  his 
eyes  were  opened,  and  he  was  not  a  little  pleased  that  by 
"  any  mode  of  interpretation  he  could  be  made  to  meaa 
well."  To  Warburton  the  consequences  were  more  im- 
portant;  Pope  courted  him,  and  ultimately  got  him  a  ricU 
wife  and  a  bishopric' 

'  Moreri. — Johnson's  Lives. — iJichols'i  Bowyer  f^r  a  full  account  of  the  coo- 
trovtrsy  wiih  Crousaz. 


86  CROWLEY. 

CROWLEY  (Robert),  a  divine  and  poet,  was  born 
either  in  Gloucestershire,  or,  according  to  Bale,  in  North- 
amptonshire, and  entered  a  student  ot"  Magdalen  college, 
Oxford,  about  the  year  1534  ;  and  alter  taking  the  degree 
of  B.  A.  vvas  elected  probationer  fellow  in  1542.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Edward  VL  he  settled  in  London, 
took  a  house  in  Ely-rents,  Holborn,  and  there  exercised 
the  trade  of  printer  and  bookseller,  and  being,  we  suppose, 
in  orders,  occasionally  preached  ;  but  being  at  the  same 
time  a  zealous  friend  to  the  reformation,  on  the  accession 
of  queen  Mary  he  went  with  the  other  exiles  to  Franc- 
fort,  where  he  remained  until  the  queen's  death.  After 
his  return  to  England  he  had  several  benefices  bestowed 
on  him,  among  which  were  the  archdeaconry,  and  a 
prebend  in  Hereford,  both  which  he  resigned  in  1567;  a 
prebend  of  St.  Paul's,  the  rectory  of  St.  Peter  le  Poor,  and 
the  vicarage  of  St.  Giles's  Cripplegate  ;  but  he  was  de- 
prived of  the  latter,  the  only  promotion  which  he  appears 
to  have  held  at  that  time  (1566),  for  a  riot  in  the  church, 
because  the  choristers  wore  surplices.  In  1576,  however, 
it  appears  that  he  vvas  collated  to  the  living  of  St.  Lawrence 
Jewry,  and  probably  was  now  more  reconciled  to  the  cere- 
monies and  habits  of  the  church.  In  1578  he  was  pre- 
sented with  the  freedom  of  the  Stationers'  company,  and 
soon  after  is  found  with  the  wardens,  licensing  copies. 
He  died  June  18,  1588,  and  was  buried  in  his  former 
church  of  St.  Giles's.  He  vvas,  according  to  Tanner,  a 
person  of  a  happy  genius,  an  eminent  preacher,  and  a 
zealous  advocate  for  reformation.  His  works,  both  in  prose 
and  verse,  enumerated  by  Wood  and  Tanner,  are  now 
merely  objects  of  curiosity.  In  1550  he  printed  the  first 
edition  of  "  Pierce  Plowman's  Vision,"  with  the  view  of 
helping  forward  the  reformation  by  the  revival  of  a  book 
which  exposed  the  absurdities  of  popery.  He  translated  into 
popular  rhyme,  not  only  the  Psalter,  but  the  Litany,  with 
hymns,  all  which  he  printed  together  in  1549.  In  the 
same  year,  and  in  the  same  measure,  he  published  "  The 
Voice  of  the  Last  Trumpet  blown  by  the  seventh  angel," 
a  piece  containing  twelve  several  lessons  for  the  instruction 
of  all  classes.  He  also  attacked  the  abuses  of  his  aG:e  in 
thirty-one  "  Epigrams,"  1550,  and  twice  reprinted.  In  the 
same  year  he  published  a  kind  of  metrical  sermon  on 
**  Pleasure  and  Pain,  Heaven  and  Hell — Remember  these 
four,  and  all  shall  be  well."     In  his  *'  Dialogue  between 


CROWLEY.  87 

Lent  and  Liberty,"  written  to  prove  that  Lent  is  a  super- 
stitious institution,  Mr.  Warton  thinks  that  the  personifi- 
cation of  Lent  is  a  bold  and  a  perfectly  new  prosopopeia. 
Crowley  likewise  wrote  and  printed  in  J  588,  a  rhyming 
manual,  "  The  School  of  Virtue  and  Book  of  Good  Na- 
ture," a  translation,  into  metre,  of  many  of  the  less  excep- 
tionable Latin  hymns  anciently  used  by  the- catholics. 
Among  his  prose  works  are  "  An  Apology  of  those  Kingiish 
preachers  and  writers  which  Cerberus,  the  three-headed 
doe  of  hell,  chartreth  with  false  doctrine  under  the  name 
of  Predestination,"  1566,  4to,  and  '' Brief  Discourse  con- 
cerning those  four  usual  notes  whereby  Christ's  Catholic 
Church  is  known,"  1581,  4to,  &c.  In  controversy  he 
was  usually  warm,  and  not  nice  in  his  language  ;  and  in  his 
poetry  he  consulted  usefulness  rather  than  taste. ' 

CROWNE  (Joiix),  an  American,  was  the  son  of  an 
independent  minister  in  Nova  Scotia*.  Being  a  man  of 
some  genius,  and  impatient  of  the  strict  education  he  re- 
ceived in  that  country,  he  resolved  upon  coming  to  Eng- 
land to  try  if  he  coidd  not  make  his  fortune  by  his  wits. 
When  he  first  arrived  here,  his  necessities  were  extremely 
uro-ent:  and  he  was  oblisfcd  to  become  gentleman  usher  to 
an  old  independent  lady  ;  but  he  soon  grew  as  weary  of 
that  office  as  he  was  of  the  discipline  of  Nova  Scotia.  He 
set  himself  therefore  to  writing  ;  and  presently  made  him- 
self so  known  to  the  court  and  the  town,  that  he  was  no- 
minated by  Charles  II.  to  write  "  The  Masque  of  Calisto.'* 
This  nomination  was  procured  him  by  the  earl  of  Roches- 
ter, who  designed  by  that  preference  to  mortify  Dryden. 
Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  two  parties,  after  the  pre- 
tended discovery  of  the  popish  plot,  the  favour  Crowme 
was  in  at  court  induced  him  to  embrace  the  tory  party; 
about'  whicii  time  he  wrote  a  com.edy  called  the  "  City 
Politics,"  in  order  to  expose  the  whigs.  The  lord  cham- 
berlain, Bonnet  earl  of  Arlington,  though  secretly  a  pa- 
pist,  was   unaccountably   a   friend   to  the  whigs,  from  his 

*  Oldys  give*:  a  rlifferent  account,  and  wha,  after  holding:  an  office  in  the 
and  repifseiits  liim  as  !he  son  of  Wil-  H<ralds'  college,  went  with  his  family 
liam  CiMwn,  who  travelled  with  the  to  one  of  the  plantations,  wiure  he 
earl  of  Arundel  to  Vienna,  and  pub-  died.  Perhaps  when  he  went  there  he 
lished  "  A  Relation  of  the  remarkable  took  ou  hitu  the  functions  of  a  clergy- 
places  and  pa^"sages  observed  in  his  man, 
lordship's   travels,    &,c."    1637,    4to; 

'   Ath.  Ox.  vol.  I. — Tanner  and   Bale. — Strype's  Life  of  Parker,  p.  21S.— • 
Warton  b  Mist,  of  Poetry. 


88  ,      C  R  O  W  N  E. 

hatred  to  the  treasurer  lord  Darnley.  Upon  various  pre- 
tences the  play  was  withheld  from  the  stage ;  at  lust 
Crowne  had  recourse  to  the  king  himself,  and  by  his  ma- 
jesty's absolute  command  the  play  was  acted.  Though 
Crowne  ever  retained  a  most  sincere  affection  lo  his  royal 
master,  he  was  honest  enongh  to  despise  the  servilities  of 
a  court.  He  solicited  the  payment  of  money  promised 
him,  which  as  soon  as  he  obtained  he  became  remiss  in  his 
attendance  at  St.  James's.  The  duchess  of  Portsmouth 
observed  this  conduct,  and  acquainted  the  king  with  it. 
The  gay  monarch  only  laughed  at  the  accusation,  and  per- 
haps in  his  mind  jnstitied  Crowne's  sincerity. 

About   the  latter  end  of  this  reign,  Crowne,  tired  out 
with  vvrltino:,  and   desirous  of  shelterinir  himself  from  the 
resentment  of  many  enemies  he   had  made  by  his  "  City 
Politics,"    ventured   to  address  the  king  himself,    for   an 
establishment  in  some  olHce,  that  might  be  a  security  to 
him  for  life.     The  king  answered,  "  he  should  be  provided 
for  ;"   but  added,  *'  that  he  Vvould  first  see  another  comedy.'* 
Crowne  endeavoured  to  excuse  himself  by  telling  the  king, 
that    "  he  plotted  slowly   and  awkwardly."     His  majesty 
replied,   that  "he  would  help  him  to  a  plot;"  and  put  into 
his  hand   the  Spanish  comedy  called   "  Non  pued  esser," 
out  of  which  Crowne  took   the  comedy  of  "  Sir  Courtly 
Nice."     The   play  was  just  ready  to  appear,  and  Crowne 
extremely  delighted  to  think  that  he  was  going  to  be  made 
happy  the  remaining  part  of  his  life,  by  the  performance 
of  the  king's  promise  ;  when,  upon   the  last  day  of  the  re- 
hearsal,   he    met   Underbill  the  player  coming    from   the 
house,   who  informed  him  of  the  king's  death.     This  event 
ruined  Crowne  ;  who   had  now  nothing  but  his  wits  to  live 
on  for  the  remaining  part  of  his  life.     On  them,  however, 
he  contrived  to  live  at  least  until  1703,  but  it  is  not  cer- 
tain when  he  died.      He  was  the  author  of  seventeen  plays, 
some  of  which  were  acted  with  great  success  ;  of  a  romance 
called  "  Pandion  and  Amphigeria  ;"  and  a  burlesque  poem 
called  "  Dccneids,"  1692,   4to,  partly  imitated  from  Boi- 
ieau's    "  Lutrin,"   which   last    he    translated   in    Dryden's 
JNliscellany.     The  editor  of  the  Biographia  Dramatica  as- 
signs  him  the  third  rank  in  dramatic  merit,  which  seems 
rather  more  than  his   plays  will  justify.     His  merit,  such 
as  it  was,  lay  in  comedy,   for   his  tragedies  are  wretched. 
IJryden,   who,    notwithstanding   his    high    fame,    was    not 
wholly  free  from  the  jealousy  of  rivals,  and  even  of  such  a 


C  R  O  W  M   E.  89 

rival  as  Crowne,  used  to  compliment  him  when  any  of  his 
jjhiys  failed,  but  was  cold  to  him  if  he  met  with  success. 
IJc  used  also  to  say  that  Crowne  had  some  genius,  but 
tlieu  lie  always  added,  that  "  his  father  and  Crowne's  mo- 
ther were  very  well  acquainted."  For  this  bit  of  gossip, 
related  first  by  Jacob  Tonson,  we  are  indebted  to  Spence's 
Anecdotes.  Drydeii  was  evidently  in  good  hutnour  when 
he  thus  endeavoured  to  account  for  Crowne's  genius.  ' 

CROXALL  (Dr  S.-muel),  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Crox- 
all,  rector  of  Hanworth  in  Middlesex,  and  Walton   upon 
Thames  in  Surrey,   in  the  last  of  which  places  his  son  was 
born.      He  received  his  early  education  at  Eton  school,  and 
thence  was  sent  to  St.  John's  coUefr^",  in  Cambridge.     It  is 
said,  that  while  he  was  at  the  university  he    became  ena- 
moured of  Mrs.  Anna  Maria  Mordaunt,   who  first  inspired 
his   breast   with  love  ;    and  to  whom  he   dedicates  "  The 
Fair  Circassian,"   in   a  bombastic  style,  bordering  on  pro- 
phaneness.     Croxall   was  designed    for    orders,    and    had 
})robably   entered    them    when    he    published    this   poem, 
which  made  him  cautious  of  being  known  to  be  the  author 
of  a  piece  so  ludicrously  written,   and   yet  taken  from  a 
book  which  makes  a  part  of  the  canon  of  scripture.     The 
first  specimen  of  this  poem,  under  the  title  of  "  Solomon's 
Song,  chap,   iv."    appeared   in  Steele's  Miscellany,    1713. 
The  first  edition  of  tlie  whole  poem  appeared  in  1720,  vvhea 
it   might  have  been   expected  he  had  acquired  more  re- 
verence for  the  scriptures,  or  respect  for  his  profession. 

Croxall  had  not  long  quitted  the  university  before  he  was 
instituted  to  the  vicarage  of  Hampton,  in  Middlesex  ;  and 
afterwards,  Feb.  1731,  to  the  united  parishes  of  St.  Mary 
Somerset  and  St.  Mary  Mounthaw,  in  London,  both  which 
he  held  till  his  death.  He  was  also  chancellor,  prebendary, 
canon  residentiary,  and  portionist  of  the  church  of  Here- 
ford; in  1732  was  made  archdeacon  of  Salop  and  chaplain 
to  the  king;  and  in  Feb.  1734  obtained  the  vicarage  of 
Selleck  in  Herefordshire.  He  died  at  an  advanced  age, 
Feb.  13,  1752.  Dr.  Croxall,  who  principally  governed  the 
church  of  Hereford  during  the  old  age  of  bishop  Egerton, 
pulled  down  the  old  stone  chapel  adjoining  to  the  palace, 
of  which  a  fine  plate  was  published  by  the  society  of  anti- 

>  Cibl)ei-'s  Liveis,  vol.  HI. — Maloiv's  Dryden,  vol.  I.  p.  123,  500,  501.—. 
BiOfi;.  Oititn. — Cfnsura  Lileraria,  vul.  !. — Speiici  'i  Auerdoles,  MS. — Gent.  Maf . 
vol.  XV  p.  99. — Doiiiiis's  Loiters,  vol.  1.  p.  48,  I7'21.  His  Do^neid,  or  the 
Churclt  St.uiiJc,  is  iu  Mr.  NJcholi's  Cullcctiya  of  I'oems,  vol.  III. 


^0  C  n  O  X  A   L  L. 

quaries  in  1737,  and  with  the  j^atcrials  built  a  house  for 
his  hrotlier,  JMr.  llodney  Croxali.  Having  early  imbibed 
a  strong  attachnsent  to  tlit;  whig  interest,  he  emphjyed  his 
pen  in  favour  of  that  parry  during  the  latter  end  of  qneeo 
Anne's  reign  ;  and  published  "  1\vo  original  cantos,  in 
in)itation  of  Spenser's  Fairy  Queen,"  as  a  satire  on  the 
carl  of  Oxford's  adminisiration.  In  1715  he  addressed  a 
poem  to  the  duke  of  Argyle,  upon  his  obtaining  a  victory 
over  the  rebels  ;  and  the  same  year  published  "  The  Vi- 
sion," a  poem,  addressed  to  the  earl  of  Halifax.  In  1720 
he  published  "The  Fair  Circassian,"  in  4to  ;  in  1722,  a 
collection  of  *'■  Fables  of  j^sop  and  others,  translated  into 
English,"  a  work  wtiich  continues  to  be  popular,  probably 
from  its  homely  and  almost  vidg;ir  style.  He  wrote  all  the 
dedications  prefixed  to  the  "  Select  Novels,"  printed  for 
Watts,  1729  ;  and  was  the  author  of  "  Scripture  Politics," 
1735,  8vo.  This  is  an  account  intended  for  common  rea- 
ders of  the  historical  part  of  the  Old  Testament.  His 
latest  publication  was  "  The  Royal  Manual  ;"  in  the  pre- 
face of  which  he  endeavours  to  shew  that  it  was  composed 
by  the  famous  Andrew  Marvel,  found  among  his  MSS.  but 
it  was  generally  believed  to  be  written  by  himself. 

As  a  divine.   Dr.  Croxali  seems  entitled  to  little  respect. 
He  owed    his   preferments   to  his   political   services.     He 
published,  however,  six  single  sermons,  and  while  house 
chaplain   to  the  palace  at  Hampton  court,  preached  a  ser- 
mon on  a  public  occasion,  in   which,   under  the   character 
of  a  corrupt  and  vvicked  minister  of  state,  he  was  supposed 
to  mean  sir  Robert  Walpole,  who  had  intercepted  some 
ecclesiastical  dignity  which   he  wished  to  obtain.      It   was 
expected  that  for  this  offence  he  would  have  been  removed 
from   his  chaplainship  :  but  the  court  over-ruled  it,  as  he 
had  always  manifested  himself  to  be  a  zealous  friend  to  the 
Hanover  succession.     To   the  list   of  his  poems  may    be 
added,  an  "  Ode."  inscribed  to  king  George  the  First,  on 
liis  landing  to  receive  the  crown  ;  and  "  Colin's  Mistakes," 
formerly  ascribed  to  Prior,   but  printed  as  Croxall's  in  Mr. 
>3ichols's  Collection.     His  having  written  the  dedications 
to  the  "  Select  Novell,"   printed  for  Watts  in  1729,  sug- 
gested  to  some   bookseller  to  afBx  his  name  to  a  compila- 
tion called  '<  The  Tea-table  Miscellany,"  1766.' 

CHOZE  (Matiiuuin    Veyssiere  la),  a  learned  French 
writer,  was  born   at   Nantes,  Dec.   4,    1661.     His  father, 

»  Biog.  Brit. — Cibber's  Live6,  vol.  V. — Nichols's  Poems,  vol.  VII. 


CROZE.  91 

who  was  a  merchant,  was  also  a  man  of  letters,  and  be- 
stowed much  pains  on  tlie  education  of  his  son,  who  an- 
swered his  expectations  by  the  proficiency  he  made  in 
cla."«sical  studies.  He  had,  however,  provided  him  with  a 
private  tutor,  who  happened  to  disgust  him  by  the  severity 
of  his  manners,  and  upon  this  account  partly,  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  he  desired  to  take  a  voyage  to  some  of  the 
West  India  islands,  to  which  his  father  traded  ;  but  his 
princij)al  inducement  was  what  he  had  read  in  books  of 
voyaf^es,  and  the  conversation  of  persons  who  had  been  in 
America,  all  which  raised  his  curiosity  to  visit  the  new 
world.  He  embarked  on  board  a  French  ship,  with  no 
other  books  than  Erasmus's  Colloquies,  and  the  Gradus  ad 
Parnassum.  His  passage  was  not  unpleasant,  and  during 
his  residence  at  Guadaloupe  he  borrowed  all  the  Latin 
books  he  could  discover,  and  read  them  with  avidity  ;  but 
the  chief  advantage  he  seems  to  have  derived  here  was  an 
opportunity  to  learn  the  English,  Spanish,  Itahan,  and 
Portuo-uese  lan<iua2:es.  To  these  he  afterwards  added  an 
acquaintance  with  the  German,  Sclavonic,  and  Anglo- 
Saxon  ;  and  studied  with  much  attention  the  ancient  and 
modern  Greek,  the  Hebrew,  Syriac,  Coptic,  Armenian, 
Hebrew,  Arabic,  and  even  the  Chinese,  On  his  return  to 
Nantes  in  1677,  he  found  his  father's  affairs  somewhat  de- 
ranged, and  was  obliged  to  take  a  part  in  the  business.  , 
Medicine  appears  to  have  been  first  suggested  to  him  as  a 
profession,  but  he  found  little  inclination  for  that  study ; 
and  some  conferences  he  happened  to  have  with  the  Be- 
nedictines of  the  conorefration  of  St.  Manr  determined  him 
to  enter  their  society.  He  accordingly  made  his  noviciate 
in  1678,  and  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  theology.  In 
1682  he  formally  became  a  member  of  the  congregation. 
His  residence  at  Paris,  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Germain  des 
Pres,  the  vast  number  of  books  within  his  reach,  and  par- 
ticularly of  n)anuscripts,  increased  his  knowledge  and  his 
thirst  for  knowledoe,  and  some  of  his  earliest  labours  were 
bestowed  in  preparing  materials,  collecting  MSS.  &c.  for 
new  editions  of  the  works  of  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
and  St.  Gregory  Na^-ianzen.  But  these  were  interrupted 
by  certain  differences  which  occurred  in  the  abbey  to 
which  he  belonged,  and  of  which  we  have  various  ac- 
counts. The  prior  of  St.  Germain,  father  Loo,  had  a 
great  aversion  to  the  study  of  classical  and  polite  literature, 
and  was  for  confining  the  members  to  the  strict  religious 


9J  CROZE. 

duties  of  the;  bouse.  This  could  not  fail  to  be  disfjust- 
ing  to  a  man  of  La  Croze's  taste  :  but,  liccording  to 
other  accounts,  whicii  seem  more  probable,  he  began 
to  entertain  religious  scruples  about  this  time  (16.96),  which 
induced  him  to  uithdiaw  himself.  It  is  said  that  his 
superiors  found  among  his  pape-s  a  treatise  against  tran- 
substantiation  in  his  hand-vvritintj,  and  which  thev  believed 
to  be  his  composition  ;  but  they  discovered  afterwards  that 
it  was  a  translation  from  the  English  of  htillingfieet.  Some 
other  manuscripts,  however,  sufficiently  proved  that  he 
had  changed  his  opinion  on  religious  matters ;  and  the 
dread  of  persecution  obliged  him  to  make  his  escape  to 
Basil,  which  he  successfully  accomplished  in  May  1696. 
Here  he  renounced  tlie  Roman  catliolic  religion,  and  as 
his  intention  was  to  take  up  his  residence,  he  was  matri- 
culated as  a  student  of  the  colleije  of  Basil.  He  remained 
in  this  place,  however,  only  till  Septem.ber,  when  he  de- 
parted, provided  with  the  most  honourable  testimonies  of 
his  learning  and  character  from  Buxtorf,  the  Hebrew  pro- 
fessor, and  VVerenfels,  dean  of  the  faculty  of  theology. 
He  then  went  to  Berlin,  where  his  object  was  to  secure  a 
fixed  residence,  devote  himself  to  study,  and  endeavour  to 
forget  France.  In  order  to  introduce  himself,  jje  began 
with  offering  to  educate  young  men,  the  sons  of  protestant 
parents,  which  appears  to  have  answered  his  purpose,  as 
in  1697  we  find  him  appointed  librarian  to  the  king  of 
Prussia ;  but  his  biographers  are  not  agreed  upon  the 
terms.  To  this  place  a  pension  was  attached,  but  not  suf- 
ficient to  enable  him  to  live  without  continuing  his  school  ; 
and  some  assert  that  he  was  very  poor  at  this  lime.  The 
probability  is,  that  his  circumstances  were  improved  as  he 
became  better  known,  and  his  reputation  among  the  learned 
was  already  extensive.  In  June  of  1697  he  went  to  Franc- 
fort  to  visit  the  literati  of  tha:  place,  and  their  fine  library, 
and  visited  also  Brandcnburgh  for  the  same  purpose.  In 
November  1697  (or,  as  Chaufepie  says,  in  1702),  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Rose,  a  lady  originally  of  Dauphiny,  and 
thus,  adds  one  of  his  Roman  catholic  biograi)hers,  com- 
pleted the  abjuration  of  the  true,  religion.  In  1698  he  first 
commenced  author,  and  from  time  to  time  published  those 
works  on  which  his  fame  rests.  Soon  after  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  celebrated  Leibnitz,  with  whom  he  car- 
ried on  an  intimate  correspondence.  In  17  13  he  went  to 
Hamburgh,  where  he  paid  many  visits  to  the  learned  Fu- 


CROZE.  9$ 

biicius,  and  in  liis  letters  speaks  with  great  warmth  of  the 
pleasure  tliis  journey  afforded  ;  but  tliis  year,  1713,  was 
not  in  other  respects  a  very  fortunate  one  to  La  Croze, 
and  he  formed  tiie  design  of  quitting  Germany.  He  had 
been  appointed  tutor  to  the  margrave  of  Schwel,  and  this 
employment  terminating  in  17  1  4,  he  lost  the  pension  an- 
nexed to  it,  and  was  reduced  to  considerable  difhculties, 
of  which  he  wrote  to  Leibnitz,  as  to  a  friend  in  whcmi  h? 
could  confide.  Leiljiiitij,  by  way  of  answer,  sent  him  a 
copy  of  a  letter  which  he  had  written  to  M.  BernsdorfF, 
prime  minister  to  the  elector  of  Hanover,  in  his  behalf. 
The  ohjcct  likely  to  be  attained  hy  this  interest  was  a  pro- 
fessorsliip  at  Helmstadt ;  but  as  it  required  subscripiion  to 
the  articles  of  the  Lutheran  church,  i\L  la  Croze,  not- 
withstanding the  persuasions  Leibnitz  employed,  declined 
accepting  it.  His  affairs,  however,  soon  after  wore  a  more 
promising  aspect,  partly  in  consequence  of  a  prize  he 
gained  in  the  Dutch  lottery.  Li  17  17  he  had  the  honour 
to  be  engaged  as  private  tutor  to  the  princess  royal  of 
Prussia,  afterwards  margravine  of  Bareuth.  In  1724,  for 
several  months  his  studies  were  interrupted  by  a  violent  fit 
cl  the  gravel ;  and  on  his  recovery,  the  queen  of  Prussia, 
who  ahvay:5  patronized  La  Croze,  obtained  for  him  the 
professorship  of  philosophy  in  the  French  college  at  Berlin, 
vacant  by  the  death  of  M.  Chauvin.  This  imposed  on  him 
the  necessity  of  drawing  up  a  course  of  philosophy,  but  as 
he  never  intended  to  print  it,  it  is  said  not  to  have  been 
executed  with  the  care  he  bestowed  on  his  other  works. 
In  1 713  father  Bernartl  Pez,  the  Benedictine,  made  him 
liberal  offers  if  he  would  return  to  the  church  he  had  for- 
saken, but  this  lie  declined  with  politeness,  offering  the 
arguments  which  influenced  his  mind  to  remain  in  the  pro- 
testant  chui'ch.  In  1739  an  inflammatioa  appearetl  on  his 
leg,  which  in  April  pat  on  appearances  of  mortification, 
but  did  not  prove  fatal  until  May  21.  About  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  before  his  death  he  desired  his  servant  to  read  the 
51st  and  77th  psalms,  during  which  he  expired,  in  the 
seventy -first  year  of  his  age.  He  was  reckoned  one  of 
t[ie  most  learned  men  of  his  time,  and  was  frequently  called 
a  living  li})rary.  So  exteu'^lve  v;as  his  reading,  and  so 
vast  his  memory,  that  no  one  ever  consulted  him  without 
obtaining  prompt  informatir)n.  In  dates,  facts,  and  re- 
ierences  he  v/as  correct  and  ready.  We  have  already  no- 
ticed how  many  languages  he  had  learned,   but  it  appears 


34  CROZE. 

that  he  made  the  least  procuress  in  the  Chinese,  to  which 
Leibnitz,  in  his  letters,  is  perpetually  urging  him.  The 
greater  part  of  his  life  was  employed  in  study,  and  lie  had 
no  other  pleasures.  There  was  scarcely  a  book  in  his  li- 
brary which  he  had  not  perused,  and  he  wrote  MS  notes 
on  most  of  them.  His  conversation  could  not  fail  to  be 
acceptable  to  men  of  literary  research,  as  his  memory  was 
stored  with  anecdotes,  which  he  told  in  a  very  agreeable 
manner.  He  was  conscientiously  attached  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  reformed  religion.  He  had  always  on  his 
table  the  Hebrew  Psalter,  the  Greek  Testament,  and  Tho- 
mas a  Kempis  in  Latin  :  the  latter  he  almost  had  by  heart, 
as  w^ell  as  Buchanan's  Psalms.  His  consistent  piety  and 
charity  are  noticed  by  all  his  biographers. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  notice  that  he  has  been  some- 
times confounded,  and  especially  in  Germany,  with  Con- 
rand  de  la  Croze,  who  lived  for  some  time  in  Holland,  and 
wrote  part  of  the  first  nine  volumes  of  the  "  Bibliotheque 
Universelle,"  and  the  whole  of  vol.  XL  From  tliese  a  4to 
volume  was  published  in  London  in  1693,  under  the  title 
of  "  Memoirs  for  the  ingenious,"  but  the  two  authors  were 
nowise  related. 

The  principal  works  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir  are  : 
1.  "  Dissertations  historiques  sur  divers  sujets,"  Rotter- 
dam, 1707,  8vo,  called  vol.  I.  but  no  move  vvere  published. 
It  contains  three  dissertations,  the  first  on  Socinianism  and 
JVlahometanism,  stating  the  connexion  between  them  :  the 
second,  an  exauunation  of  father  Hardouin's  opinions  on 
ancient  authors  ;  and  the  third,  on  the  ancient  and  modern 
state  of  religion  in  India.  2.  "  Vindicia)  Veterum  ^cripto- 
rum,  contra  Hardouinum,"  ibid.  1708,  8vo.  3.  "  Entretiens 
sur  divers  sujets  d'histoire,"  Cologne  (Amsterdam))  8vo,  con- 
taining conversations  with  a  Jew,  a  dissertation  on  atheism, 
and  an  attack  on  Basnage,  which  La  Croze's  biographer, 
Jordan,  thinks  too  severe.  The  dissertation  on  atheism  was 
translated  into  English,  and  published  1712.  4.  "  Histoire 
du  Christianisme  des  Indes,"  Hague,  1721,  Svo,  a  work 
which  contributed  greatly  and  deservedly  to  his  reputation. 
5.  "  Histoire  du  Christianisme  d'Ethiope  &  d'Arn)enie," 
ibid.  1739,  Svo,  inferior  to  the  former,  but  containing 
much  curious  information.  Besides  many  smaller  disserta- 
tions and  letters  in  the  literary  journals,  JM.  Croze  was  the 
author  of  various  works  left  in  MS,  one  of  which,  "  Lexi- 
fcon  i^gyptiaco-Latinum,"   was  published   by   Woide,    at 


-CROZE.  95 

Oxford,  in  1775,  4to,  and  professor  Ulil  published  his 
currejipoiulence  in  3  vols.  4to,  Lei|)sic  ;  "  Thesauri  Fpis- 
tohci  Liicroziaui,  toui.  111.  ex  bihlioiheca  Jurdauiana," 
1742—1746.' 

CRUCIGKR  (Caspar),  one  of  the  contributors  to  the 
reformation  in  Germany,  was  born  at  Leipsic,  Jan.  I,  1504. 
In  his  youth  he  was  of  a  retired  melanchol}'  cast,  but 
made  great  prf)gr«.;s«  in  chissical  learning,  and  afterwards 
in  divinity,  which  he  studied  at  Witiemberg  under  Mosel- 
lanus  and  Richard  Croke  (See  Croke),  an!  had  for  liis 
fellow  student  tl)e  learned  Camerarius,  who  says,  that  al- 
though he  appeared  to  his  companions  of  a  dull  capacity, 
he  laid  in  a  greater  stock  of  learning  than  any  of  them. 
In  1524  he  went  to  Magdeburgi),  and  taught  school  for 
two  years ;  and  on  his  return  to  Witteaiberg  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  expound  the  scriptures,  and  to  preach  in  the 
church  near  the  castle,  and  was  admitted  to  his  doctor's 
degree.  Here  he  also  aj)plied  his  mind  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  pharmacy,  and  botany,  and  laid  out  two  gar- 
dens with  a  groat  variety  of  curious  and  useful  plants. 
Having  contracted  an  intimacy  with  Luther,  he  joined  him  in 
his  efforts  to  promote  the  reformation,  and  assisted  him  in 
the  translation  of  the  Bi'ole.  In  1540,  in  the  disj)ute  at 
Worms  with  Eckius,  &c.  he  was  chosen  secretary;  and 
Glanvil,  who  represented  the  emperor  in  this  a-ssembly, 
said  of  him  that  he  had  more  learniu'r  than  all  the  Ponti- 
ficians,  or  Romanists.  In  disputing  he  aimed  at  great 
perspicuitv,  and  disliked  ne.v  and  ani!)iguou3  expressions. 
To  his  otiier  studies  he  joined  a  very  intimate  acquaintance 
with  mathematics,  was  a  master  of  Euclid,  and  himself  in- 
vented or  improved  various  astronomical  instruments.  In 
1546  he  was  chosen  rector  of  the  college  of  Wittemberg, 
and  sustained  almost  alone  the  whole  weight  of  managing 
its  concerns,  by  which,  added  to  his  um'emitting  studies, 
his  health  became  injured,  and  his  strength  so  much  im- 
paired, that  he  died  of  a  decline  Nov.  16,  1548,  in  the 
forty- fourth  year  of  his  age.  During  his  sickness,  he  em- 
ployed himself  in  reading,  and  exhorting  his  family  and 
friends,  who  came  to  see  him,  to  adhere  to  the  principles 
he  had  professed  and  taught.  He  published  some  com- 
mentaries on  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  the  epistle  to  Timothy, 

•  Chatifepie. — Moreri.— Jordar.'i  L  fe  of  La  Croze,  Amst.  1741. — Montnly 
Eeview,  to!.  LX.  p,  1. 


D6  C  K  U  C  I  G  E  R. 

and  the  Psalms  in  German  :  "  Enarrationcs  in  duos  artirtr- 
los  Symboli  Niceni;"  and  "  Ovatio  de  ordine  disceiuli." 
Some  of  these  are  to  be  t'oiind  amonfr  Melanchton's  works.* 
CRUClGEll  (George),  of  tiie  same  family  with  the 
preceding,  was  also  of  the  reformed  religion,  and  a  man 
of  great  learning.  He  was  born  at  Mersburgh  Sept.  24, 
1575,  and  was  educated  at  Nassau,  Leipsic,  VVittemberg, 
and  Heidelberg;  and  in  1600  was  appointed  schoolmaster 
at  Cassel.  In  1G05  he  was  promoted  to  the  professorship 
of  logic  at  Marpurg,  and  about  three  years  after  received 
bis  doctor's  degree,  and  became  rector  of  the  college,  and 
afterwards  dean  of  the  faculty  of  theology.  He  died  in 
1636.  His  only,  or  principal  publication,  is  a  very 
learned  and  curious  work,  entitled  "  Harmonia  Linguarum 
quatuor  Cardinalium,  Hebraica^,  Latiuae,  et  Gcrmanicae,'* 
Fraiicfort,  1616,  fol.  In  this  work  the  author  endeavours 
to  prove  that  the  Hebrew  is  the  y)arent  of  the  Greek,  L.atin, 
and  German  languages,  and  although  he  indulges  perhaps 
a  little  too  much  in  etymological  conjecture,  he  is  fre- 
quently successful,  and  always  ingenious.  All  bibliogra- 
phers mark  this  a  book  of  rare  occurrence,  but  we  have 
just  seen  a  copy  in  the  late  Dr.  Gosset's  valuable  library, 
so'd  for  a  few  shillinsjs. " 

'  CRUCIUS  (James),  or,  as  he  signs  in  his  French  letters. 
La  Croix,  a  learned  Dutchman,  was  born  at  Delft,  about 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  was  first  educated 
under  the  elder  Trelcatius  at  Leyden,  and  afterwards  at 
Franeker,  where  he  studied  divinity,,  Hebrew,  and  Greek, 
under  Drusius,  &c.  He  also  read  history,  philosophy, 
and  poetry,  and  occasionally  amused  himself  with  writing 
Latin  poetry.  He  became  pastor  at  Delft,  the  only  situa- 
tion he  appears  to  have  held  in  the  church.  When  he 
died  is  not  mentioned  by  Foppen  or  Moreri ;  and  the  little 
we  know  of  him  is  gleaned  from  his  curious  volume  of 
miscellanies  and  epistolary  correspondence,  the  best  edi- 
tion of  which  was  published  at  Amsterdam,  1661,  12mo, 
under  the  title  of  "  Jacobi  Crucii  Mercurius  Batavus,  sive 
epistolarum  opus,  monitis  theologicis,  ethicis,  politicis, 
ceconomicis,  refertuni,  editio  aucta  et  recognita."  This 
work  is  replete  with  judicious  remarks,  and  literary  aiiec- 
dote,    and    contains    many    letters   from   Kivet,    Colviusj 

>  Melchior  Adatn. — Freheri  Theatrum, — Fuller's    Abel    Reilivivus.  —  Saxii' 
Onomasticon. 

■^  Freheri  Theatruiii. — Morhoff  I'olyhist. — Clement  Bibl.  Curieusc. 


C  R  U  C  I  U  S.  97 

Lanoy,  Salmasius,  Vossius,  and  other  learned  contempora- 
ries. The  freedom  of  some  of  Crucius's  observations  pro- 
cured it  a  place  in  the  Index  Expurgatorius,  Jan.  25,  1G84. 
He  published  also  "  Suada  Delphica,  sive  orationes  LXIX. 
varii  argumenti,  ad  usum  studios^  juventutis,"  Amst.  1675, 
12ni(),   and  often  reprinted.* 

CRLDKN  (Alexander),  author  of  an  excellent  "Con- 
cordance of  the  Bible,"  was  born   in    1701   at  Aberdeen, 
where   he   received   his  grammar  learning :   he  afterwards 
studied  at  Marischal  college,  with  a  view  of  entering  the 
church.      Unfortunately,  before   the  period  arrived  when 
he  could  be  admitted    to  officiate   as  a  public  instructor, 
such  decided  symptoms  of  insanity   ap])eared   in  his  con- 
duct, as  rendered  continement  necessary.     This  afterwards 
settled  in  a  kind  of  belief  that  he  was  delegated  by  Hea- 
ven to  reform  a  guilty  world  ;  and  his  conduct  in  a  thou- 
sand instances  demonstrated  an   ardour  and  zeal  for  the 
good  of  his  fellow-creatures,  that  merited  the  highest  ap- 
plause.    Thrice,  however,    he   was  shut  up  in  a  private 
madhouse,  in   which,  if  the  nature  of  his  disease  did  not 
lead  him  to  exaggeration,  he  was  cruelly  treated.     Once 
indeed  he  brought  his  action  against  a  respectable  physi- 
cian, and   other  persons  connected  with  him ;  the   cause 
was  tried,  and  Cruden  was  unable  to  make  out  a  case. 
The  verdict  was   given  in  favour  of  the  defendants ;  and 
his  appeal  to  the  public  was  not  of  a  kind  to  set  aside  that 
verdict,  although  he  certainly  suffered  much  more  harsh 
treatment  than  was  necessary.     On  his  release  from   his 
first  confinement,  which  was  in  his  native  place,  he  came 
to  London,  and  engaged  in  some  respectable  families  as 
private  tutor.     In   the  same  employment  he  spent  some 
years  in  the  isle  of  Man  ;  and  in  1732  he  opened  a  shop  in 
London,   under  the   Royal   Exchange,    as   bookseller,  and 
employed  all  his  vacant  time  as  a  corrector  of  the  press. 
In  the  following  year  he  began  to  compile  his  great  work, 
viz.  "  A  complete  Concordance  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament."     We  can  scarcely  conceive 
any  literary  work  that  required  more  patient  labour  than 
this,  and  few  have  been  executed  with  greater  accuracy. 
He  had  nearly   executed  the  whole  before  he  looked  for 
public  remuneration.     The  first  edition  was  published  in 
1737,  and  dedicated  to  queen  Caroline,  who  had  led  the. 

}  Moreri. — Foppen  Bibl,  Belg^. 

Vol.  xr.  H 


OS  CRUDER 

editor  to  expect  her  patronage  ;  but  her  majesty  unfor- 
tunately died  a  few  days  before  the  work  could  be  got 
ready.  The  author's  affairs  were  now  embarrassed  ;  Ije 
had  none  to  look  to  for  assistance,  and  in  a  fit  of  despon- 
dence he  gave  up  his  trade,  and  became  a  prey  to  melan- 
choly. Shortly  after  this,  he  assumed  the  title  of  "  Alex- 
ander the  Corrector,"  maintained  that  he  was  divinely 
commissioned  to  reform  the  manners  of  the  age,  and  re- 
store the  due  observance  of  the  sabbath,  appealing  to  pro- 
phecy, in  which  he  fancied  he  saw  his  own  character  deli- 
neated. He  sought,  however,  for  earthly  honours,  and 
requested  of  his  majesty  the  dignity  of  knighthood,  and 
earnestly  solicited  his  fellow-citizens  to  elect  him  member 
for  the  city  of  London.  Both  were  deaf  to  his  entreiities, 
and  he  turned  from  public  offices  to  duties  for  which  he 
was  better  qualified.  He  laboured  almost  incessantly, 
sometimes  in  works  of  pure  benevolence,  and  at  others  as 
corrector  of  the  press,  and  seldom  allowed  himself  more 
than  four  or  five  hours  for  sleep.  In  1770,  after  paying  a 
visit  to  Aberdeen,  he  returned  to  London,  and  took  lodg- 
incrs  at  Islington,  where  he  died  November  the  first.  In 
private  life  Mr.  Cruden  was  courteous  and  affable,  ready 
to  assist  all  that  came  within  his  reach,  as  well  with  his 
money  as  with  his  advice,  and  most  zealous  in  serving  the 
distressed.  One  of  his  boldest  efforts  of  this  kind  was  in 
the  case  of  Richard  Potter,  a  poor  ignorant  sailor,  who  was 
condemned  at  the  Old  Bailey  for  uttering  a  forged  sea- 
man's will,  and  who,  in  Mr.  Cruden's  opinion,  was  so 
justly  an  object  of  the  royal  clemency,  that  he  never 
ceased  his  applications  to  the  secretary  of  state  until  he 
had  obtained  a  pardon.  The  following  year,  1763,  he 
published  a  very  interesting  account  of  this  affair,  under 
the  title  of  "  The  History  of  Richard  Potter,"  8vo.  His 
other  publications  were,  "  An  Account  of  the  History  and 
Excellencj'  of  the  Scriptures,"  prefixed  to  a  "  Compen- 
dium of  the  Holy  Bible/'  24mo  ;  and  "  A  Scripture  Dic- 
tionary, or  Guide  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  Aberdeen,  2 
vols.  8vo ;  printed  a  short  time  after  his  death.  He  also 
compiled  that  very  elaborate  Index  which  belongs  to  bishop 
Newton's  edition  of  Milton,  an  undertaking  inferior  only 
to  that  of  his  "  Concordance,"  and  which  he  .undertook  at 
the  request  of  auditor  Benson.  Of  his  Concordance  an 
edition  was  published  in  1<S10,  which  may  be  justly  pro- 
nounced the  most  correct  that  has  appeared  since  the  au- 


C  R  U  D  E  N.  99 

thoi*s  time,  every  word  with  its  references  having  been 
most  carefully  t'xaniined  by  Mr.  Deodutiis  Bye,  formerly  a 
respectable  printer  in  St.  John's  gate,  who  voluntarily  em- 
jiloyed  some  years  in  this  arduous  task,  for  which  he  is 
richly  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the  public* 

CRUIK8HANK  (William),  an  eminent  surgeon  and 
anatomist,  was  born  in  1745  at  Edinburgh,  where  his  fa- 
tlier  was  examiner  in  the  Excise-office,  and  had  him  chris- 
tened William  Cumberland  in  compliment  to  the  hero  of 
Culloden,  but  the  latter  name  our  anatomist  seldom  used. 
The  earlier  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Scotland,  and  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  to  the  university  of  Edinburgh, 
with  a  view  of  studying  divinity.  Feeling,  however,  a 
strong  propensity  for  anatomy  and  physic,  he  studied  those 
sciences,  with  great  assiduity,  for  eight  years  at  the  uni- 
versity of  Glasgow.  In  1771  he  came  to  London,  and  by 
the  recommendation  of  Dr.  D.  Pitcairn  he  became  librarian 
to  the  late  Dr.  Hunter,  who  had  applied  to  the  professors 
of  Glasgow  for  a  young  man  of  talents  to  succeed  Mr. 
Hewson  ;  and  this  connection  was  the  principal  means  of 
raising  Mr,  Cruikshank  to  that  conspicuous  situation  which  he 
afterwards  so  well  merited.  During  the  life  of  Dr.  Hunter, 
Mr.  Cruikshank  became  successively  his  pupil,  anatomical 
assistant,  and  partner  in  anatomy  ;  and  on  the  death  of 
that  celebrated  man,  Mr.  Cruikshank  and  Dr.  Baillie  re- 
ceived an  address  from  a  large  proportion  of  Dr.  Hunter's 
students,  full  of  affection  and  esteem  ;  which  induced  them 
to  continue  in  Windmill-street  the  superintendance  of  that 
anatomical  school  which  has  produced  so  many  excellent 
scholars.  Mr.  Cruikshank,  besides  supporting  with  great 
reputation  his  share  in  this  undertaking,  made  himself 
known  to  the  world  by  some  excellent  publications,  which 
have  insured  to  him  a  high  character  as  a  perfect  anatomist, 
and  a  very  acute  and  ingenious  physiologist.  In  1780  he 
published  his  principal  work,  the  "  Anatomy  of  the  Ab- 
sorbent Vessels  in  the  Human  Body,"  in  which  he  not 
only  demonstrated,  in  the  clearest  manner,  the  structure 
and  situation  of  these  vessels,  but  collected,  under  one 
point  of  view,  and  enriched  with  many  valuable  observa- 
tions, all  that  was  known  concerning  this  important  system 
in  the  human  body.     Besides  this  work,  the  merit  of  which 

•  Life  of  Cruden  prefixed  to  his  Concordance,  edit.  1810,    and  originally 
Trritten  tor  the  Biog.  Brit,  by  the  editor  of  iliis  Dicionavy. 

H  2 


100  C  R  U  I  K  S  H  A  N  K. 

has  been  fully  acknowledged  by  translations  into  foreign 
languages,  he  wrote  a  paper,  which  was  presented  to  the 
royal   society  several  years  ago,  entitled,  "  Experiments 
on  the  Nerves  of  Living  Animals,"   in  which  is  shewn  the 
important  fact  of  the  regeneration  of  nerves,  after  portions 
of  them  have  been   cut  out ;  illustrated  by  actual  experi- 
ments on  animals.     This  paper  was  read  before  the  society, 
but  not  then  printed,  owing,  as  was  said,  to  the  interfere 
ence  of  the  late  sir  John  Pringle,  who  conceived  that  it 
controverted  some  of  the  opinions  of  Haller,  his  intimate 
friend.     It  appeared,  however,  in  the   Society's  Transac- 
tions for  1794.     In  1779  he  made  several  experiments  on 
the  subject  of  "  Insensible  Perspiration,"  which  were  added 
to  the  first  editions  of  his  work  on  the  "  Absorbent  Ves- 
sels;" and  were  collected  and  published  in  a  separate  pam- 
phlet in  1795.     In  1797,  the  year  in  which  he  was  elected 
F.  R.  S.   he  published  an  account  of  appearances  in   the 
ovaria  of  rabbits,  in   different  stages  of  pregnancy  ;  but 
his  fame  rests  upon,  and  is  best  supported  by,  his  "  Anato- 
my of  the  Absorbents/'  which  continues  to  be  considered 
as  the  most  correct  and  valuable  work  on  the  subject  now 
extant. 

Mr.  Cruikshank  was  not  without  some  share  of  personal 
as  well  as  intellectual  vanity  ;  but  he  had  a  generous  and 
sympathetic  heart,  and  literally  *'  went  about  doing  good." 
He  was  one  of  those  liberal  medical  gentlemen  who  at- 
tended Dr.  Johnson  in  his  last  illness.  Mr.  Cruikshank's 
death  was  occasioned  by  a  disorder,  the  fatal  consequences 
of  which  had  been  predicted  by  one  of  his  pupils  about 
sixteen  years  before  that  event.  He  used  at  certain  times 
to  complain  of  an  acute  pain  in  the  apex  of  his  head,  and 
his  pupil  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  pain  arose  from 
extravasated  blood,  which  was  settled  upon  the  se7isorium ; 
and  that  as  no  relief  could  be  given  without  the  greatest 
care  in  point  of  regimen,  it  would  increase  until  it  was  too 
heavy  for  the  tender  nerves  or  organs  of  the  medulla  oblon- 
gata to  bear;  of  course,  it  would  occasion  a  rupture,  and 
end  in  dissolution.  When  Mr.  Cruikshank  found  him- 
self in  most  excruciating  pain,  he  sent  for  this  gentleman, 
and  every  assistance  was  given  ;  but  the  seat  of  the  com- 
plaint, being  directly  under  the  pia  matei\  could  not  be 
touched.  In  this  situation  he  breathed  his  last,  July  27, 
J  800.     The  pericranium  being  afterwards  opened,  a  quan- 


C  R  U  I  K  S  H  A  N  K.  101 

tity  of  extraVasated  blood  was  found  upon   the  sensoriuinf 
some  of  the  tender  vessels  of  which  were  ruptured. ' 

CRUSIUS  (Christian),  professor  of  eloquence  at  Wit- 
temberg,  and  an  eminent  philologer,  was  born  at  Wol- 
becli,  where  his  father  was  a  clergyman,  in  1715.  He  was 
first  educated  at  Hall,  whence  he  removed  to  Leipsic,  and 
studied  polite  literature  under  Mascovius.  His  principal 
attachment  was  to  the  classics,  which  he  read  with  the  eye 
of  a  critic  and  antiquary.  While  at  Leipsic,  he  contri- 
buted some  of  his  lirst  remarks  on  classical  history  and  an- 
tiquities to  the  "  Acta  Eruditorum."  In  1738  he  left 
Leipsic  for  Dresden,  where  he  became  acquainted  with 
Juncker,  and  by  his  persuasion  went  to  St.  Petersburg,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  academy  of  history  founded  by 
Peter  the  Great,  and  afterwards  succeeded  Beyer  in  the 
same  academy.  His  situation  here  was  for  some  time 
agreeable,  and  his  fame  spread  ;  but  the  stipend  affixed 
to  his  place  in  the  academy  being  irregularly  paid,  and 
Crusius  being  little  attentive  to  pecuniary  matters,  his 
studies  became  interrupted,  and  his  mind  harassed,  and 
his  object  now  was  to  procure  some  place  in  Saxony  where 
he  could  pursue  his  studies  in  comfort.  For  this  purpose 
he  consulted  Gesner,  who  promised  him  every  assistance; 
and  in  1751,  on  the  death  of  Berger,  he  was  elected  pro- 
fessor of  eloquence  at  Wittemberg.  Here  for  some  time 
he  fulfilled  the  utmost  hopes  of  the  friends  by  whose  in- 
terest he  had  been  elected  ;  but  having  while  at  St.  Peters- 
burgh  contracted  habits  too  social  for  a  man  of  learning, 
he  now  indulged  them  to  such  a  degree  as  to  obstruct  his 
usffulness,  expose  himself  to  ridicule,  and  lessen  his  au- 
thority. He  died  Feb.  1767,  according  to  Klotz  his  bio- 
grapher, regretting  his  past  imprudence,  and  with  pious 
resignation.  The  failings  of  this  accurate  critic  are  much 
to  be  lamented,  as  but  for  them  be  would  have  probably 
attained  the  highest  class  in  philology.  His  writings  are: 
1.  "  Commentarius  de  originibus  pecuniae  a  pccore  ante 
rummum  signatum  :  accedit  ejusdem  oratio  habita  in  con- 
ventu  Academico,  cum  auspicaret  munus  Professoris,'* 
Petrop.  174S,  8vo.  2.  "  Probabilia  critica,  in  quibus  ve- 
teres  Graeciet  Latini  scriptoresemendantur  ^  declarantur,'* 
Leipsic,  1753,  8vo,  This  collection  of  criticisms  and 
emendations  on   the  classics,  chiedy  contributed   to   our 

>  Gent.  Mag.  1800.— Rees's  Cyclopaedia. 


102  C  R  U  S  I  U  S. 

author's  fame.  3.  "  OjDuscula  ad  historiam  et  humanitatis 
literas  spectantia,"  Altenburgh,  17G7,  with  a  biographical 
preface  by  Klotz,  to  wliich  we  are  indebted  for  this  sketch 
of  the  life  of  Crusius.  Besides  these,  Crusius  contributed 
various  dissertations  to  the  German  journals,  a  list  of  wtiich 
may  be  seen  in  Harles.* 

CRU8IUS  or  KRAUS  (Martin),  a  learned  German 
scholar  and  antiquary,  was  born  at  Grebern,  in  the  bi- 
shopric of  Bamberg,  Sept.  19,  1526,  and  after  some  ele- 
mentary instruction  from  l)is  father,  a  minister  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  was  sent  to  Ulm,  where  he  studied 
Greek  and  Latin  under  Gregory  Leonard,  and  by  his  dili- 
gence and  progress  obtained  a  pension  from  the  senators 
of  Ulm,  which  enabled  him  to  pursue  his  studies  without 
expense  to  his  father.  In  1545  he  went  to  Strasburgh, 
where,  after  applying  for  some  time  to  polite  literature, 
he  learned  Hebrew,  and  went  through  a  course  of  divinity, 
still  liberally  maintained  by  the  city  of  Ulm;  and  in  1547 
was  appointed  tutor  to  a  person  of  rank.  Some  years  after, 
he  presided  over  the  school  at  Memmingen,  and  raised  its 
reputation  very  considerably.  In  1559  he  was  chosen  pro- 
fessor of  moral  philosophy  and  Greek  at  Tubingen  ;  but 
in  1566  was  obliged  to  leave  it  on  account  of  the  plague, 
and  did  not  return,  along  with  the  other  professors,  until 
1568.  At  the  age  of  eighty -one,  perceiving  that  he  was 
near  his  end,  he  assembled  the  whole  university,  with  the 
rector  at  its  head,  and  after  entertaining  them  sump- 
tuously, gave  them  a  goblet  worth  an  hundred  florins. 
He  died  Feb.  25,  1607,  leaving  a  library  which  was  valued 
at  2000  florins.  Besides  the  learned  languages,  he  was  a 
good  French  scholar,  but  was  most  distinguished  for  his 
acquaint vnce  with  the  modern  Greek,  and  was  the  first 
who  taught  it  in  Germany.  Of  his  numerous  works,  the 
following  are  the  most  important :  1.  "  Turco-Grjcciae 
libri  octo,  utraque  lingua  edita.  Quibus  Graecorum  status 
sub  imperio  Turcico,  in  politia  et  ecclesia,  ceconomia  et 
scholis,  jam  inde  ab  amissa  Constantinopoli,  ad  hsec  usque 
tempora,  luculenter  describitur,"  Basil,  1584,  folio.  2. 
*'  Acta  et  Scripta  Theologorum  Wirtembergensium,  et 
Patriarchae  Constantinopolitani  D.  Hieremise  ;  quit  utrique 
ab  anno  1576  usque  ad  annum  158  J  de  Augustana  Con- 
fessione  inter  se  miserunt,"  Gr.  &  Lat.  1584,  fol.  3.  "  Ger- 

*  Hailes  de  Vitis  Philologorum,  vol.  IV.— Suxii  Ouomasticon. 


C  R  U  S  I  U  S.  103 

mano-Grceciae  libri  sex  :  in  quorum  prioribus  tribiis,  Ora- 
tiones,  iu  reliquis  Carauna,  Gr.  &  Lat.  continentur,"  fol. 
without  date,  but  from  the  dedication,  probably  1585. 
4.  "  Annales  Suevici,  sive  Chronica  rerum  gestarum  an- 
tiquissimse  et  inclyta;  Suevica;  Gentis  quibus  quicquid  fere 
de  ea  haberi  potuit,  ex  Lat.  &  Graec.  aliarumque  lingua- 
rum  auctoribus,  scriptisque  plurimis,  non  editis,  coniprehen- 
ditur,  &c."  1595  and  1596,  2  vols.  fol.  These  works,  which 
are  now  rare,  are  highly  esteemed,  and  throw  much  light 
on  history,  and  particularly  on  the  history  of  the  modern 
Greeks.  One  other  work  of  Martin  Crusius  may  be  men- 
tioned as  a  curiosity :  "  Corona  Anni,  hoc  est,  explicatio 
Evangeliorum  et  Epistolarum  qua;  difbus  dominicis  et 
festis  in  ecclesia  proponuntur;  e  Tubingeusium,  et  aliorum 
Theologorum  concionibus,  conscripta,"  Wittemberg,  1602, 
4  vols.  4to.  From  1563  he  had  been  accustomed  to  write 
in  the  church  the  sermons  of  the  preachers  of  Tubingen, 
which  he  did  first  in  Latin,  but  when  professor  of  Greek, 
he  thought  it  his  duty  to  use  that  language,  and  with  such 
indefatigable  perseverance,  that,  between  1563  and  1601, 
he  had  made  a  collection  of  those  discourses,  amounting  to 
6174,  and  published  some  of  them  in  other  volumes,  and 
would  have  published  more,  if  he  could  have  found  any 
persons  who  would  defray  the  expence.  The  work  before 
us  he  had  in  vain  offered  to  the  booksellers  at  different 
times  for  seven  years,  and  at  length  the  court  of  Saxony 
bore  the  expence  of  printing.  It  contains  5  16  sermons  in 
Greek  and  Latin,  in  double  columns.  This  singular  un- 
dertaking had  not,  as  may  be  supposed,  much  success  ; 
and  the  t\:\v  copies  which  exist  are  considered  rather  as 
objects  of  curiosity  than  utility.' 

CTESIAS,  an  ancient  historian,  was  a  nativeof  Cnidos, 
who  accompanied  Cyrus  the  son  of  Darius  in  his  expe- 
dition against  his  brother  Artaxerxes ;  by  whom  he  was 
taken  prisoner  about  400  B.  C.  But  curing  Artaxerxes 
of  a  wound  he  received  in  the  battle,  he  became  a  great 
favourite  at  the  court  of  Persia,  where  he  continued  prac- 
tising- physic  l"or  seventeen  years,  and  was  employed  in 
several  negotiations.  He  wrote  the  "  History  of  Persia," 
in  23  books;  and  a  "  History  of  the  Indies;"  but  these 
works  are  now  lost,  and  all  we  have  remaining  of  them  is 

>  Moreri.— Clfox^iit   Bibl.   Curieuse. — Fabricii  Bibl.  Grace. — Niceron,  vol 
XIV. — SaxJi  Onomatl. 


104  C  T  E  S  I  A  S. 

an  abridgment  compiled  by  Photius.  Although  the  most 
judicious  among  the  ancients  looked  upon  Ctesias  as  a  fa- 
bulous writer,  several  of  the  ancient  historians  and  modern 
Christian  writers  have  adopted  in  part  his  chronology  of 
the  Assyrian  kings;  but  Dr.  Vincent,  a  writer  of  the  first 
authority,  after  a  careful  examination  of  his  character  and 
vtritings,  decides  that  he  must  still  be  classed  among  the 
fabulous  historians.  In  Gale's  Herodotus,  Lond.  1679,  fol. 
we  have  "  Excerpta  e  Ctesiae  Persicis  et  Indicis,"  and 
Henry  Stephens  published  "  Ex  Ctesia,  Agatharcide,  et 
Memnone  excerpta,"   1557.^ 

CTESIBIUS,  of  Alexandria,  a  famous  mathematician 
about  120  years  B.  C  was,  it  is  reported,  the  first  inventor 
of  the  pump,  which  he  discovered  by  accident.     On  low- 
ering a  mirror  that  was  in  his  father's  shop,  he    observed 
that  the  weight  which  helped  it  in  moving  upwards   and 
downwards,  and  which  was  inclosed  in  a  cylinder,  made  a 
noise,  produced  by  the  friction  of  the  air  violently  forced 
by  the  weight.     He  set  about  examining  into  the  cause  of 
this  sound,  and  thought  it  might  be  possible  to  avail  him- 
self of  it  in   making  an  hydraulic  organ,  in  which  the  air 
and    the   water  should   form  the  sound ;    an   undertaking 
which  he  executed  with  success.     Encouraged  by  this  pro- 
duction,  Ctesibius  thouoht  of  usinj^c  his  mechanical  skill  in 
measuring  time.      He  constructed   a  clepsydra,  or  water- 
clock,  foi'med  with  water,  and  regulated  by  cogged  wheels; 
the  water  by  falling  turned  these  wheels,  whicii  communi- 
cated their  motion  to  a  column  on  which  were  marked  the 
characters  for   distinouishino;  the   months  and  tbe  hours. 
At  the  same  time  that  the  cogged  wheels  were  put  in  mo- 
tion, they  raised  a  little  statue,  which  with  a  wand  pointed 
to  the  months  and  hours  marked   upon  the  colunni.     He 
was  also  the  author  of  "  Geodesia,  or  the  art  of  dividing 
and  measurino-  bodies,"  which  is  said  to  be  in  the  Vatican 
library  ;  but  he  must  be   distinguished  from  Ctesibins  of 
Chalcis,  who  was  a  cynic  philosopher,  of  a  sportive  dispo- 
sition and  a  cheerful  temper,    who  had   the  art  of  being 
agreeable  to  the  great,  without  submitting  to  the  vile  arts 
of  flattery,  and  made  them    hearken   to  truth,    and   gave 
them  a  taste  for  virtue,   under  the  name  of  amusement.  - 

CUDVVORTH  (Ralph),  a  learned   English  divme  and 
philosopher,  was  son   of  Dr.  Ralph  Cud  worth,  and  born 

'  Vossius,— Fabric,  Bibl.  Gr.— Vincent's  Periplasj  vol.  I.  '  Moreri. 


C  U  D  W  O  R  T  ir.  105 

1C17,  at  Aller,  in  Somersetshire,  of  which  place  his  father 
was  rector.     His  mother  was  of  the  family  of  Machell,  and 
had  heen  nurse  to  prince  Henry,  eldest  son  of  James  I, 
His  father   dying  vvlien   he  wad  oi^ly   seven  years  of  age, 
and  l)is  motlier  marrying  again,  i}is  education  was  super- 
intended by  his   father-in-law,    Dr.   Stoiighton,    who  was 
very  attentive  to  the  promising  genius  of  his  scholar.     In 
1630,    he  was   admitted    pensioner   of   Emanuel   college, 
Cambridge ;  of  which,   after  taking  the  degrees  of  B.  A. 
and  ]\1.  A.  he  was  chosen   fellow,  and  became  an  eminent 
tutor.     Among  his  pupils,  who  were  numerous,  was  Mr. 
William  Temple,  afterwards  the  celebrated  baronet,  states- 
man, and   writer.     About   1641  he  was  presented  to   the 
rectory  of  North  Cadbury,  in  Somersetshire.     In  1642  he 
published  "  A  discourse  concerning  the  true  notion  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,"  printed  at  London,  in  4to,   with  only  the 
initial  letters  of  his  name.     In  this  he  contends  that  the 
Lord's  supper  is  not  a  sacrifice,  but  a  feast  upon  a  sacri- 
fice ;    and  endeavours  to   demonstrate,   that  "  the   Lord's 
supper  in   the   Christian  church,  in   reference  to  the  true 
sacrifice  of  Christ,  is  a  parallel  to  the  feasts  upon   sacri- 
fices, both   in   the  Jewish   religion  and  heathenish  super- 
stition."    Bochart,  Spencer,    Selden,    and  other  eminent 
writers,    quote  this   discourse  with  great  commendations, 
but  his  opinions  have  been   controverted  by  the  majority 
of  divines.     The  same  year  likewise  appeared  his  treatise 
entitled  "  The   Union   of  Christ  and  the  Church,  in  a 
shadow,  by  R,  C."  printed  at  London,  in  4to, 

In  1644  he  took  the  degree  of  B.  D.  upon  which  occa- 
sion he  maintained   the  two   foliowing  theses  :  that,  The 
reasons  of  good  and  evil  are  eternal  and  indispensable;  and 
tliat  There  are  incorporeal  su'ostances  by  their  own  nature 
immortal.     From  these  questions  it  has  been  thought  that 
he  was  even  at  that  time  examinin<j  and  revolvingr  in  his 
mind   those  important  subjects,  which  he  afterwards  intro- 
duced in  his  "  Intellectual  System,"   and  other  works  still 
preserved  in  MS.     The  same  year  he  was  appointed  master 
of  Clare  hall,  in    Cambridge,  in   the  room   of  Dr.  Paske, 
who  had  been  ejected   by  tne  parliamentary  visitors.     The 
year  after.   Dr.  Metcalf  having  resigned  the  regius  profes- 
sorship of  Hebrew,  Cudworth  was  unammously  nominated 
by  the  seven  electors  to  succeed  him.      From  this  time  he 
applied  himself  chiefly  to  his  academical  employments  and 
studies,  especially  to  that  of  the  Jewish  antiquities.    March 


106  C  U  D  W  O  R  T  H. 

31,  1647,  he  preached  before  the  house  of  commons  at 
Westminster,  upon  a  day  of  public  humiliation,  a  sermon 
upon  1  John  ii.  3,  4,  for  which  he  had  the  thanks  of  that 
house  returned  him  the  same  day.  This  sermon  was  printed 
the  same  year  at  Ciuubridge,  in  4to,  with  a  dedication  to 
the  house  of  conmions ;  in  which  he  told  them,  that  the 
scope  of  it  was  not  to  contend  for  this  or  that  opinion,  but 
only  to  persuade  men  to  the  life  of  Christ,  as  tb.e  pith  and 
kernel  of  all  religion  ;  without  which  all  the  several  forms 
of  religion  in  the  world,  though  we  please  ourselves  never 
so  much  with  them,  are  but  so  many  several  dreams. 

In  1651  he  took  the  decree  of  U.  D.  and  in  1654  was 
chosen  master  of  Christ's  college,  in  Cambridge  ;  in  which 
year  also  he  married.      He  spent  the  remainder  of  his   life 
in  this  station,   proving  highly  serviceable  to  the  university, 
and  the  church  of  England.     Jan.  1657,  he  was  one  of  the 
persons  nominated  by  a  committee  of  the  parliament,  to 
be  consulted  ;.bout  the  English  translation  of  the  Bible. 
The  lord  commissioner  Whitlocke,  who  had  the  care   of 
this  business,  nientions  him  among  others  ;  and  says,   that 
"  this  committee  often  met  at  his  house,  and  had  the  most 
learned   men  in  the  oriental  tongues,  to   consult  with  in 
this  great  business,  and  divers  learned  and  excellent  ob- 
servations of  some  mistakes  in   the  translation  of  the  Bible 
in   English,   uhich  yet  was  agreed   to  be  the  best  of  any 
translation  in  the  world."     Our  author  had  a  great  share  in 
the  friendship  and  esteem  of  John  Thurloe,  esq.  secretary 
of  state  to  the  protectors  Oliver  and   Richard  Cromwell ; 
who  frequently  corresponded  with  him,  and  consulted  him 
about  such  persons  in   the  universit}-  as  were  proper  to  be 
employed  in   political  and  civil  affairs.      Besides  several 
letters  of  recommendation   remaining  in  MS.  there  is  a 
printed  one  in  Thurloe's  "  State  Papers"   in  which  he  re- 
commends to  the  secretary,  for   the  place  of  chaplain   to 
the  English   merchants  at   Lisbon,   Mr.  Zachary  Cradock, 
afterwards  provost  of  Eton  college,  and  famous  for  his  un- 
common learning  and  abilities  as  a  preacher*.' 

*  .Jan.   163P  he  wrote  the  following-  vitation  \vl)icli    I  ncqtiainted  him  with, 

letter  to   secretary  Thurloe,  upon  his  I  could  tlo   no  lesso  than  accompany 

design  of  publishing  some   Laiiin  liis-  him   with   these  few  lines,  to  present 

courses    in    defence    of     ClM-istianiiy  my  service  to  you.     I  am  pt  rswaded, 

against  .Judaim.  you  will  he  well    satisfied  in   his  inje- 

'*  Sir, — Havinj;'  this  opportunity  of-  ntiity,  when   yon  are   aciiuainted  with 

fored  by  doctour  Sclatcr,  who  desires  to  him.     Now  1  liavo   this  opporinnit}',   I 

wait  u|)on  you,    upon  your  kind  in-  shall  use  the  freedom  to  acciuaiiit  you 


CUDWORTH. 


107 


Upon  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  he  wrote  a  copy  of 
verses,  which  were  pubHshed  in  "  Academiae  CantabrU 
gieiisis  SflTHPIA,  sive  ad  Carolum  II.  reducem,  &c.  gra- 
tulatio;"  and  in  16G2  he  was  presented  by  Sheldon,  then 
bishop  of  London,  to  the  vicarage  of  Ashwell,  in  Hertford- 
shire. In  167S  he  was  installed  a  prebendary  of  Glou- 
cester ;  and  in  this  year  it  was  that  he  published  at  London, 
in  folio,  his  celebrated  work  entitled  *'  The  true  Intellec- 
tual System  of  the  Universe  ;  the  first  part,  wherein  all  the 
reason  and  philosophy  of  atheism  is  confuted,  and  its  im- 
possibility demonstrated."  The  imprimatur  by  Dr.  Sa- 
muel Parker,  chaplain  to  archbishop  Sheldon,  is  dated 
May  29,  1671,  seven  years  before  the  publication  of  this 
work,  owing  to  the  opposition  of  some  people  at  court, 
who  used  all  their  endeavours  to  destroy  its  reputation  on 


yu'dh  another  business.  I  am  per- 
swadetl  by  friends  to  publish  some  dis- 
courses, which  1  have  prepared  in  La- 
tine,  that  will  be  of  a  polecnicall  na- 
ture, in  defcHse  of  Christianity  aij,ainst 
judaisme  ;  explaining  some  cheef 
places  of  scripture  controverted  be- 
tween the  Jews  and  us,  as  Daniel's  pro- 
phecy of  the  seventy  weeks,  never  yet 
sufliciently  cleared  and  improved;  and 
withall  extricating  many  difliculties  of 
chronologic.  Which  taske  1  the  ra- 
ther undertake,  not  only  because  it  is 
suitable  to  my  Hebrew  profession,  and 
because  I  have  lighted  on  some  Jewish 
writings  upon  the  argument,  as  have 
scarcely  ever  been  seen  by  any  Chris- 
tians, which  would  the  better  iiiable 
me  fully  to  confute  them  ;  but  also 
because  I  conceive  it  a  worke  proper 
and  suitable  to  this  present  age.  How- 
ever, though  I  should  not  be  able  my- 
selfe  to  be  any  way  instrumental  to 
these  great  transactions  of  provi")ence, 
not  without  cause  hoped  for  of  raa«y 
amongst  the  Jews ;  yet  1  perswade 
myselfc  my  pains  may  not  be  alto- 
gether unprofitable  for  the  settling  and 
establishing  of  Christians  ;  or  at  least 
1  shall  give  an  account  of  my  spending 
such  vacant  hours,  as  I  could  redeeme 
from  my  preaching  and  other  occa- 
sions, and  the  perjietual  distractions 
of  the  bursarship,  which  the  statutes  of 
this  colledge  impose  upon  me.  It  was 
my  purpose  to  dedicate  these  fruits  of 
my  studies  to  his  highnes,  to  whose  noble 
father  I  was  much  obliged,  if  1  may 
have  leave  or  presume  to  doe  :  which 


1  cannot  better  understand  by  any 
than  yourselfe,  if  you  shall  think  it 
convenient,  when  you  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  insinuate  any  such  thing, 
which  1  permiite  wholly  to  your  pru- 
dence. I  intend,  God  willing,  to  be 
in  London  some  time  in  March  ;  and 
then  I  shall  waite  upon  you  to  receve 
your  information.  In  the  mean  time, 
craving  pardon  for  this  prolixity  of 
mine  and  freedome,  I  subscribe  my- 
self your  really  devoted  friend  and 
humble  servant,  R.  Cudworth. 

Jan.  '20,  lt)53, 
Christ  Coll.  Cambr." 

The  "  Discourse  concerning  Daniel's 
Prophecy  of  the  Seventy  W^eeks," 
mentioned  in  this  letter,  and  still  ex- 
tant in  MS.  is  highly  commended  by 
Dr.  Henry  More,  in  the  preface  to 
his  "  Explanation  of  the  grand  mys- 
tery of  Godliness}"  where  he  observes, 
that  Dr.  Cudworth  in  that  discourse, 
whicli  was  read  in  the  public  schools  of 
the  university,  had  undeceived  the 
world,  which  had  long  been  misled  by 
the  authority  of  Joseph  Scaliger  ;  and 
that,  taking  Funccius's  epocha,  he  had 
demonstrated  the  manifestation  of  the 
Messiah  to  have  fallen  out  at  the  end 
of  the  69ih  week,  and  his  passion  in 
the  midst  of  the  last,  in  the  most  na- 
tural and  proper  sense  thereof:  "  which 
demonstration  of  his,"  says  More, 
"  is  of  as  much  price  and  worth  in 
theology,  as  either  the  circulation  of 
the  blood  in  physic,  or  the  motion  of 
the  earth  in  natural  philosophy." 


108  C  U  D  W  O  R  T  H. 

account  of  certain  singulaiities  in  it,  which  brought  some 
of  his  opinions  under  suspicion.     He  appeared  indeed  so 
much  to  affect  impartiality,  as  to  incur  the   imputation  of 
betraying  the  cause  ije  meant  to  defend,  which  certainly 
was    far  from  his   intention.     Dryden   tells  us,  that  "  he 
raised  such  strong  objections  against  the  being  of  a  God 
and  providence,  that  many  thought  he  had  not  answered 
them  :"  and  lord  Shaftesbury  says  that  "  though  the  whole 
world  were  no  less  satisfied  with  his  capacity  and  learning, 
than  with  his  sincer  ty  in  the  cause  of  the  Deity ;  yet  was 
he  accused  of  giving  the  upper  hand  to  the  atheists,  for 
having  only  stated  their  reasons  and  those  of  their  adver- 
saries fairly  together."     Bayle,  in  his  "  Continuation  des 
pensees  diverses  sur  les  Cometes,"  observed,  that  Cudworth 
by  his  plastic  nature  gave  great  advantage  to  the  atheists  ; 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  warm  dispute  between  himself 
and  Le  Clerc   upon  this  subject.     Le  Clerc  frequently  ex- 
pressed his  wishes,   that  some  man  of  learning  would  trans- 
late the  "  Intellectual  System"  into  Latin  ;  but  this  design, 
though  formed  or  entertained   and  attempted   by  several 
persons  in  Germany,  was  never  executed  till  1733,  when 
the  learned    Mosheim  published  his  translation  of  it.     A 
second   edition    of  the  English  was    published    by  Birch, 
1743,  in  2  vols,  4to,  in  which  were  first  supplied,  chiefly 
from  Mosheim's    Latin  edition,    references  to  the  several 
quotations    in  the   *'  Intellectual^System,"    which   before 
were  very  obscure  and  imperfect,  but  Mosheim  had  been 
at  the  pains  to  search   them  all  out,  and  to  note  them  very 
accurately.     In  Birch's  edition,  there  are,  besides  the  "  In- 
tellectual   System,"    the   following  pieces   of  our  author, 
viz.  the   "  13iscourse   concerning    the  true  notion  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,"  and  "  Two  Sermons,"  on  1  John  ii.  3,  4, 
and  1  Cor.  xv.  57,  to  all  which  is  prefixed   an  account  of 
the  life  and  writings  of  tlie  author,   by  Dr.  Birch. 

Cudworth  (lied  at  Cambridge,  June  26,  1688,  and  was 
interred  in  the  chapel  of  Christ's  college.  He  was  a  man 
of  v,ery  extensive  erudition,  excellently  skilled  in  the 
learned  languages  and  antiquity,  a  good  mathematician,  a 
subtle  philosopher,  and  a  profound  metaphysician.  The 
main  design  of  his  celebrated  work,  *'  The  Intellectual 
System,"  is  to  refute  the  principles  of  atheism,  and  in  this 
lie  has  successfully  employed  a  vast  fund  of  learning  and 
reading.  But  his  partiality  for  the  Platonic  philosophy,  in 
judging  of  which,  after  the  example  of  his  conteniporaiies, 


C  U  D  W  O  R  T  H.  109 

he  paid   too  much    respect  to  the  writings  of  the  modern 
Alexandrian    Phitonists,    led  him  into  trctpient   mistakes. 
In  physics  he  adopted  the  atomic  system;  bur,  abantlornng 
Democritus  and   Epicurus  as  the  first  patrons  of  impiet}', 
he  added  to  the  doctrine  of  atoms  that  of  a  certain  middle 
substance  between  matter  and  spirit,  to  which  h~i  gave  the 
appellation  of  plastic  nature,  which  he  supposed  to  be  the 
immediate  instrument  of  tlie  oivine  operation  ;    and  this 
hypotliesis  gave  rise  to  the   controversy  above-mentioned 
between   Bayle  and   Le   Clerc.      Cudworth  stands  at   the 
head  of  those  divines  who,  considering  the  belief  in  a  tri- 
une God  as  a  fundamental  article  of  Christian  belief,  main- 
tain that  both  the  Platonic,  and  all  the  other  Pagan  trinities 
are  only  corruptions  and   mutilations  of  certain  primaeval 
revelations  and  patriarchal  traditions  relative  to  the  asserted 
distinction   in   the   divine  nature  ;    and   he   has  very  ably 
discussed  this  important  subject  in  his  Intellectual  System. 
A  great  number  of  writers   commend  Cudworth's  piety 
and  modesty  ;  and  Burnet  having  observed,  that  Dr.  Henry 
More  studied  to  consider  religion  as  a  seed  of  a  deiform 
nature,  and  in  order  to  this,  set  young  students  much  on 
reading  the  ancient  philosophers,  chiefl}'^  Plato,  TuUy,  and 
Plotinus,  and  on  considering    the  Cliristian  religion  as  a 
doctrine  sent  from  God,  both  to  elevate  and  sweeten  hu- 
man nature,  tells  us,  that  "  Cudworth  carried  this  on  with 
a  great  strength  of  genius,  and  a  vast  compass  of  learning  ; 
and  that  he  was   a  man   of  great  conduct  and   prudence  ; 
upon  which  his  enemies  did  very  falsely  accuse  him  of  craft 
and  dissimulation."  He  left  several  manuscripts  which  seem 
to  be  a  continuation  of  his  "  Intellectual  System,"  of  which 
he  had  given  the  world  only  the  first  part.     One   of  these 
was  published  by  Chandler,  bishop   of  Durham,    1731,   in 
8vo,    under  this    title,    "  A  Treatise  concerning   eternal 
and  immutable  Morality."     This  piece  was  levelled  against 
the  writings  of  Hobbes  and  others,  who  revived   the   ex- 
ploded  opinions  of  Protagoras  ;    takmg  away  the   essen- 
tial and  eternal  differences  of  moral  good  and  evil,  of  just 
and  unjust,  and  making  them  all  arbitrary  productions  of 
divine  or  human  will.     He  left  also  several  other   MSS. 
with  the  following  titles]:    1.  A  discourse  of  moral  good  and 
evil."    2.  Another  book  of  morality,  whtrein  Hobbes's  phi- 
losophy is  explained.      3,  A  discourse  of  liberty  and   ne- 
cessity, in  which  the  grounds  of  the  atheistical  philosophy 
are  confuted,  and  morality  vindicated  and  explained.     4. 


110  CUDWORTH. 

Another  book  "  De  libero  arhiLrio."  5.  Upon  Daniel's 
prophecy  of  the  70  weeks,  wherein  all  the  interprctauons 
of  the  Jews  are  considered  and  confuted,  with  several  of 
some  learned  Christians.  6.  Of  the  verity  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  against  the  Jews.  7.  A  disconrse  of  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  and  immortality  of  the  sonl.  8.  Hehrcw 
learning.  9.  An  explanation  of  Hobbes's  notion  of  God, 
and  of  the  extension  of  spirits.  The  history  of  these  MSS. 
is  somewhat  curious.  Havin<r  been  left  to  the  care  of  his 
daughter,  lady  Masham*,  they  for  a  long  time  quietly  re- 
posed in  the  libraiy  at  Gates,  in  Essex.  But,  about  the 
year  1762,  when  the  late  lord,  Masham  married  his  second 
lady,  his  lordship  thought  proper  to  remove  a  number  of 
volumes  of  ancient  learning,  which  had  been  bequeathed 
to  the  family  by  Mr.  Locke,  and  the  manuscripts  of  Dr. 
Cud  worth,  to  make  room  for  books  of  polite  amusement. 
For  this  purpose,  he  sold  either  the  whole,  or  a  consider- 
able part  of  them,  to  Mr.  Robert  Davis,  then  a  bookseller 
in  Piccadilly.  Mr.  Davis  being  told,  or  having  concluded, 
that  the  manuscripts  were  the  productions  of  Mr.  Locke, 
it  became  an  object  of  consideration  with  him,  how  to  con- 
vert them,  as  a  tradesman,  to  the  best  advantage.  They 
contained,  among  other  things,  sundry  notes  on  scripture. 
About  the  same  time,  a  number  of  manuscript  scriptural 
notes  by  Dr.  Waterland  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
booksellers.  It  was  therefore  projected,  by  the  aid  of  such 
celebrated  names  as  Mr.  Locke  and  Dr.  Waterland,  to 
fabricate  a  new  Bible  with  annotations.  At  a  consultation, 
however,  it  was  suggested,  that,  though  these  names  were 
very  important,  it  would  be  necessary,  to  the  complete  suc- 
cess of  the  design,  to  join  with  them  some  popular  living 
character.  The  unfortunate  Dr.  Dodd  was  then  in  the  height 
of  his  reputation  as  a  preacher,  and  was  fixed  upon  to  carry 
on  the  undertaking.  This  was  the  origin  of  Dr.  Dodd's 
Bible,  and  part  of  the  materials  put  into  his  hands  the 
doctor  made  use  of  in  the  "  Christian  Magazine."  When 
the  manuscripts  were  returned  to  Mr.  Davis,  he  carried 
them  down  to  Barnes  in  Surry,  which  was  his  country  re- 
tirement, and  threw  them  into  a  garret,  where  they  lay 
exposed  to  the  dangers  of  such  a  situation.  About  the 
beginning  of  the    year   1777,    a  gentleman,    who   had  a 

*  Our  author  liad  several  sons,  who  Gates   in    the  county  of  Essex,  bart 

probably  died  young;  but  he  left  one  Of  this   lady  an  account  will  be  given 

daugliter,    Damaris,    who   became  se-  hereafter. 
CQiud  wife  to  sir  Francis  Masham,  of 


C  U  D  W  O  R  T  H.  Ill 

veneration  for  the  name  of  INIr.  Locke,  and  was  concerned 
to  hear  that  any  of  his  writhigs  were  in  danger  of  being 
lost,  went  to  Barnes,  to  see  these  manuscripts  ;  and  bein"- 
positively  assured  by  Mr.  Davis,  that  tliey  were  the  real 
compositions  of  that  eminent  man,  he  immediately  pur- 
chased them  for  forty  guineas.  He  was,  liowevcr,  soon 
convinced,  after  an  examination  of  them,  that  the  authority 
of  the  bookseller  was  fallacious,  and  having  remonstrated 
against  the  deception,  the  vender  condescended  to  take 
them  again,  upon  being  paid  ten  guineas  for  his  disappoint- 
ment in  the  ne*jociation.  In  the  investio^ation  of  the  ma- 
nuscripts,  the  gentleman  having  discovered,  by  many  in- 
contestable proofs,  that  they  were  the  writings  of  Dr.  Cud- 
worth,  he  recommended  them  to  the  curators  of  the  British 
Museum,  by  whom  they  were  purchased  ;  and  thus,  at  last, 
after  many  perils  and  mutilations,  tliey  are  sa-fely  iodo-ed 
in  that  noble  repository. ' 

CUERENHERT  (Theodore  van),  a  very  extraordi- 
nary person,  was  a  native  of  Amsterdam,  where  he  was 
born  in  1.522.  It  appears  that  early  in  life  he  travelled 
into  Spain  and  Portugal,  but  the  motives  of  his  journey 
are  not  ascertained.  He  was  a  man  of  science  ;  and,  ac- 
cording to  report,  a  good  poet.  The  sister  arts  he  at  first 
considered  as  an  amusement  only ;  but  at  length  was 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  engraving  for  his  support,  and 
though  the  different  studies  in  which  he  employed  his 
time  prevented  his  application  to  this  art  from  being  so 
close  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  yet  marks  of  genius  are  dis- 
coverable in  his  works.  They  are  slight,  and  hastily  exe- 
cuted with  the  graver  alone,  in  an  open  careless  style,  so 
as  greatly  to  resemble  drawings  made  with  a  pen.  He 
was  settled  at  Haerlem ;  and  there  pursuing  iiis  favourite 
studies  in  literature,  he  learned  Latin,  and  was  made  se- 
cretary to  that  town,  from  wiience  he  was  several  times 
employed  as  ambassador  to  the  prince  of  Orange,  to  whom 
he  addressed  a  famous  manifesto,  which  that  prince  pub- 
lished in  1566.  Had  he  stopped  here,  it  had  been  well; 
but,  directing  his  thoughts  to  matters  which  he  did  not 
understand,  he  brought  forward  an  arcfuraent  as  dano-er- 
ous  as  It  was  absui'd.  He  maintained,  that  all  reliu^ious 
communications  were  corrupted  ;  and  that  without  a  super- 

•  Biog.  Cvlt. — Burnet's  Own  Times. — Birch's  Cudworth  and  Tillotson. — 
Gent.  Maj  LVIII.  1186  ;  LIX.  123.  126.— Critical  Review,  LV.  p.  391.— Avs- 
cough's  Cat.  of  MSS.  in  Brit.  Mus. 


112  C  U  E  R  E  N  II  E  R  T. 

natural  mission,  accompanied  with  miracles,  no  person  had 
any  right  to  administer  in  any  religious  office  :  lie  there-' 
fore  pronounced  tiiat  man  to  be  unworthy  tiie  name  of  a 
Christian  who  would  enter  any  place  of  public  worship. 
This  he  not  only  advanced  in  wortis,  but  strove  to  shew 
the  sincerity  of  his  belief  in  it  by  practice  ;  and  for  that 
reason  would  not  communicate  with  either  protestant  or 
papist.  His  works  were  published  in  three  volumes  folio, 
16'60  ;  and  though  he  was  several  times  imprisoned,  and  at 
last  sentenced  to  banishment,  yet  he  does  not  appear  to 
have  altered  his  sentiments.  He  died  at  Tergout  in  1390, 
aged  68.  It  is  to  his  honour  as  an  artist,  that  he  was  the 
instructor  of  the  justly-celebrated  Henry  Goltzius.  Cue- 
renhert  worked  conjointly  with  the  Gallesand  other  artists, 
from  the  designs  of  Martin  Hemskerk.  The  subjects  are 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  and  consist  chiefly  of 
middling-sized  plates  lengthwise.  He  also  engraved  seve- 
ral subjects  from  Frank  Floris. ' 

CUFF  (Henry),  a  celebrated  wit  and  scholar,  but 
memorable  chiefly  for  the  peculiarity  of  his  fate,  was  de- 
scended from  a  good  family,  though  some  have  insinuated 
the  contrary,  and  born  at  Hinton  St.  George  in  Somerset- 
shire about  1560.  He  gave  early  marks  of  genius  and  ap- 
plication, and  in  1576  was  admitted  of  Trinity  college  in 
Oxford  ;  where  he  soon  distinguished  himself  by  his  know- 
ledge of  the  Greek  tongue,  and  an  admirable  faculty  in 
disputing.  He  was  elected  scholar  in  May  1578,  and  was 
admitted  fellow  in  May  1583,  but  had  the  misfortune  to 
lose  his  fellowship  for  a  witticism,  which,  either  in  jest  or 
malice,  he  levelled  at  sir  Thomas  Pope,  the  founder  of 
-  his  college.  Sir  Thomas,  we  are  told,  had  a  singular 
whim,  upon  visiting  some  persons,  of  seizing  whatever  he 
could  lay  his  hands  on,  and  carrying  it  off  under  his  gown 
or  in  his  pocket ;  which,  however,  was  not  imputed  to  dis- 
honesty, but  to  humour.  This  induced  Cuff  in  one  of  his 
merry  moments  to  say,  "  A  pox  !  this  is  a  poor  beggarly 
college  indeed :  the  plate  that  our  founder  stole,  would 
build  such  another."  The  president,  hearing  of  this, 
ejected  Cuff  from  his  fellowship  ;  not  suffering  prophane 
wit  to  be  thus  exercised  within  his  walls,  for  fear  perhaj)s 
that  it  should  become  contagious.  Such  is  the  story,  as 
told  by  Wood,  who  says  he  had  it  from  Dr.  Balhurst ;  but 

*  Strutt's  Dictionary. 


'  -CUFF.  115 

'Mr.  Warton  has  proved  that  he  has  misrepresentcfl  it,  nor 
was  Cuff  removed  by  the  president,  but  by  a  mandate  from 
lady  Fowlett,  the  foundress,  who  first  placed  him  tliere. 
Cuff's  merit,  however,  was  so  great,  and  his  reputation  for 
learning  so  extraordinary,  that  he  was,  in  1386,  elected 
probationer  of  Merton  college  by  sir  Henry  Savile,  then 
warden  ;  and  two  years  after  made  fellow.  He  was  con- 
sidered as  a  man  capable  of  makintj  a  shiniiif  fit^nre  in 
life  ;  and  that  he  was  much  esteen)ed  by  sir  Henry  Savile, 
appears  not  only  from  the  instance  of  kindness  just  men- 
tioned, but  also  from  a  letter  of  his  to  the  learned  Camden, 
in  which  he  gives  him  the  highest  character,  and  styles 
him  his  own  and  Camden's  intimate  friend.  He  wrote  a 
Greek  epigram  in  commendation  of  Camden's  Britannia, 
which  is  prefixed  to  all  the  Latin  editions,  and  to  some  of 
the  English  translations  of  it;  and  which  has  been  much 
admired.  He  was  afterwards  promoted  to  the  Greek  pro- 
fessorship, and  chosen  proctor  of  the  university  in  1594-, 
While  Greek  professor,  he  assisted  Columbanius  in  the 
first  edition  of  Longus's  elegant  pastoral  I'omance,  printed 
at  Florence  in  1598. 

At  what  time  he  left  Oxford,  or  upon   what  occasion, 
<loes  not  appear ;  but  there  is  some  reason  to  believe,  it 
was  for  tlie  sake  of  travelling  in  order  to  improve  himself. 
For  he  was  always  inclined  rather  to  a  busy,  than  to  a  re- 
tired life;  and  held,  that  learning  was  of  little  service  t» 
any  man,  if  it  did  not  qualify  him  for  active  pursuits.    This 
disposition  recommended  him  much  to  the  favour  of  the  ce- 
lebrated Robert  earl  of  Essex,  who  was  himself  equally  fond 
of  knowledge  and  business.      Cuff  became  his  secretary  in 
1596,  when  the  earl  was  made  lord  lieutenant  of  Ireland  ; 
but  it  had  been  happier  for  him,   if  he  could  have  con- 
tented   himself  with   the    easy  and  honourable  situation, 
which  his  own  learning,  and  the  assistance  of  his  friends  in 
the    university,   had   procured  him.     Even   his  outset   was 
unfortunate;  he  accompanied  the  earl   in  his  exj)edition 
against   Cadiz,   and    after    its    successful    conclusion,   was 
dispatched  with   his  lordship's    letters    to    England,    and, 
when  he  had  landed,   endeavoured  witli  the  utmost  speed, 
to  arrive  with  them  at  the  court.      Beinof,  however,   unfor- 
Innately  taken  ill  on  the  road,  he  was  obliged  to  send  up 
the  letters,   inclosed  in  one  of  his  own,   to  Mr.  Reynoldes, 
another  of  the  earl's  secretaries.      Mr.  Cuff',  agreeably  to 
large  instructions  which  he  had  received  from  his  lordship. 
Vol.  XI.  I 


114  CUFF. 

had  drawn  up  a  discourse  couceniing  the  great  action  at 
Cadiz,  vvliich  the  earl  purposed  to  be  published  as  soon  as 
possible,  both  to  stop  all  vagrant  rumours,  and  to  inform 
those  tliat  were  well  affected,  of  the  truth  of  the  whole. 
It  was  at  the  name  lime  to  l)e  so  contrived,  that  neither  his 
lordship's  name,  nor  Cuff's,  nor  any  other  person's,  con- 
nected with  the  earl,  should  either  be  openly  mentioned, 
used,  or  in  such  a  manner  insinuated,  as  that  the  most 
slender  guess  could  be  made,  who  was  the  penman.  The 
publication  was  to  have  the  appearance  of  a  letter  that 
came  from  Cadiz,  and  the  title  of  it  was  to  be,  "  A  true 
relation  of  the  action  at  Cadiz,  the  21st  of  June,  under  the 
earl  of  Essex  and  the  lord  admiral,  sent  to  a  gentleman  in 
court  from  one  that  served  there  in  good  place."  Sir 
Anthony  Ashley,  who  was  entrusted  with  the  design,  acted 
a  treacherous  part  on  this  occasion.  He  betrayed  the  se- 
cret to  the  queen,  and  the  lords  of  her  council ;  the  con- 
sequence of  which  was,  that  Mr.  FulkeGrevill  was  charged 
by  her  majesty  to  command  Mr.  Cuff,  upon  pain  of  death, 
not  to  set  forth  any  discourse  concerning  the  expedition 
without  her  consent. 

He  was  afterwards  involved  in  all  the  misfortunes  of  that 
unhappy  earl,  and  did  not  escape  partaking  of  his  fate. 
Upon  the  sudden  reverse  of  the  earl's  fortunes,  Cuff  was 
not  only  involved,  hut  looked  upon  as  the  chief  if  not 
the  sole  cause  and  author  of  his  misfortunes.  Thus, 
When  the  earl  was  tried  and  condemned,  February  19, 
1601,  and  solicited  by  the  diyines  who  attended  him  while 
tinder  sentence,  he  not  only  confessed  matters  prejudicial 
to  Cufl",  but  likewise  charged  him  to  his  face  with  being 
the  author  of  all  his  misfortunes,  and  the  j)erson  who 
principally  persuaded  him  to  pursue  violent  measures.  Sir 
Henry  Neville,  also,  being  involved  in  this  uidiappy  busi- 
ness, mentioned  Cuff  as  the  person  who  invited  him  to  the 
meeting  at  Drury-house ;  where  the  plot  for  forcing  the 
carl's  way  to  the  queen  by  violence  was  concerted.  Cuff 
was  brought  to  his  trial  March  5th  following,  and  although 
he  defended  himself  with  great  steadiness  and  spirit,  was 
convicted,  and  executed  at  Tyburn,  March  30,  1601  ; 
dying,  it  is  said,  with  great  constancy  and  courage.  He 
declared,  at  the  place  of  execution,  that  "  he  was  not  in 
the  least  concerned  in  that  wild  commotion  which  was 
raised  by  a  particular  great  but  unadvised  earl,  but  shut 
wp  that  whole  day  within  the  house,  where  he  spent  his 


CUFF.  115 

time  in  very  melancholy  reflections  :  that  he  never  per- 
suaded any  man  to  take  up  arms  against  the  queen,  but 
was  most  heartily  concerned  for  beuig  an  instrument  of 
bringing-  that  worthy  gentleman  sir  Henry  Neville  into 
danger,  and  did  most  earnestly  intreat  his  jjardon,  &c.  *" 
His  character  has  been  harshly  treated  by  lord  Bacon, 
sir  Henry  Wotton,  and  other  writers.  Camden  also,  who 
knew  him  intimately,  and  had  lived  many  years  in  great 
friendship  with  him,  says  that  he  was  a  man  of  most  ex- 
quisite learning  and  |)enetrating  wit,  but  of  a  seditious 
and  perverse  disposition.  Others  are  milder  in  their  cen- 
sures ;  and  all  allow  him  to  have  been  a  very  able  and 
learned  man.  He  wrote  a  book  an  English,  a  very  little 
before  his  death,  which  was  printed  about  six  3'ears  after, 
under  this  title:  "The  differences  of  the  ages  of  man's 
life,  together  with  the  original  causes,  progress,  and  end 
thereof,"  1607,  8vo.  It  has  been  printed  more  than  once 
since,  and  commended  as  a  curious  and  philosophical 
piece.  Wood  says,  that  he  left  behind  him  other  things 
reatly  for  the  press,  which  were  never  published.  Bishop 
Tanner  has   given  us  the  title  of  one  ;  viz.   "  De  reb 


o 


us 


gestis  in  sancto  concilio  Nicaeno  ;"  or.  The  transactions  in 
the  holy  council  of  Nice,  translated  out  of  Greek  into 
Latin,  and  believed  to  have  been  the  work  of  Gelasius 
Cyricenus,  which  was  transcribed  from  the  original  in  the 
Vatican  library  by  Cuff.  And  in  the  "  Epistolas  Francisci 
et  Johamiis  Hotomanorum,  Patris  et  Filii,  et  clarorum  Vi- 
rorum  ad  eos,"  are  several  letters  by  Cuflt',  to  John  Hot- 
man.  These  are  said  to  exhibit  distinguished  marks  of 
genius  and  learning  ;  to  be  written  in  elegant  Latin  ;  and 
to  contain  some  curious  particulars.  Mr.  Warton  informs 
us  that,  notwithstanding  the  severe  check  he  received  at 
Trinity  college,  he  presented  several  volumes  to  the 
library.     The  manner  of  his  death  deprived  him,  as  may 

*  In  vol.  I.  of  the  Annual  Registpr,  Enghuul  must  die  like  clogs,  and  be 
and  the  Gent,  Mag;,  vol.  XLllI.  the  hanged.  'I'o  niislike  this  were  but 
following  remarkable  speech  is  given,  folly  :  to  dispute  ^t,  but  lime  lost :  to 
we  know  not  upon  what  auihoiity,  as  alter  it,  impossible.  Rut  to  endure  it, 
the  dying  speech  of  Mr.  CulF:  "Iain  is  manly;  and  to  sourn  it,  magnani- 
here  adjudged  to  die,  for  acting  an  act  mity.  Th«  queen  is  displeased,  the 
npYer  plotted,  for  plotting  a  plot  never  lawyers  injurious,  and  death  terrible, 
acted.  Justice  will  have  her  course;  But  1  crave  pardon  of  the  queen  ;  for- 
accusers  must  be  heard  ;  greatness  give  the  lawyers,  and  the  world  ;  de- 
will  have  the  victory,  .Scholars  and  sire  to  be  forgiven ;  and  welcome 
martialists  (though  learning  and  va-  death."  This  speech  is  at  least  cba- 
."^ur  shaulj  have  the  pre-eminence)  in  racteristic, 

1  2 


116  CUFF. 

easily  be  imagined,  of  a  monument ;  an  old  friend,  how- 
ever, ventured  to  eaibalni  liis  memory  in  the  following: 
epitaph  : 

"  Doctns  eras  Gra?co,  felixque  tibi  fiiit  alpha. 
At  fuit  infehx  omega,  Cuffe,  tuum." 

Which  has  been  thus  translated  : 

"  Thou  wast  indeed  well  read  in  Greek  ; 

Thy  alpha  too  was  crown'd  with  hope  : 
But,  oh  !  though  sad  the  truth  I  speak. 

Thy  omega  pro\ed  but  a  I'ope."' 

C UJ ACIUS,  or  CUJAS  (James),  a  celebrated  lawyer, 
was    born   at  Thoulouse   about    1520.      His   parents  were 
mean;  but  nature  compensated  for  the  favours  of  fortune, 
by  the  great  talents  she  bestowed  upon  him.      In  his  edu- 
cation he  was  independent  of  the  assistance  of  teachers. 
He  taught  himself  Greek  and  Latin,   and  every  thing  else 
which   related   to  polite   literature  :   and   he  arrived   to  so 
profound  a  knowledge  of  law  in  general,  and  of  civil  law 
in  particular,  that  he  is   supposed  of  all  the  moderns  to 
have  penetrated  the  farthest  into  the  origin  and  mysteries 
of  it.     The  means  by  which  he  succeeded   in  these  re- 
searches, were  the  same  which   the  ancient  lawyers   pur- 
-sued  ;  the  etymology  of  words,  and  the  lights  of  history. 
Indeed  he   was  some   little  time  under  Arnoldus  ;   but   it 
was  so  little,  that  it  can  be  esteemed  of  no  account  to  him. 
With  such  talents  and  acquirements  he  had  some  reason 
to  complain  of  his  country,  for  refusing  him  the  professor's 
chair  when  it  was  vacant,  and  presenting  one  to  it   who 
was  not  capable  of  filling  it  with  half  the   honour.     Fo- 
reigners, howev^er,  did  justice  to  his  merit,   came  from  all 
parts,    and  studied  under  his  direction,    and   the   ablest 
magistrates,  which  France  then  had,  were  formed  by  the 
instructions  of  this  lawyer.     From  Thoulouse  he  was  in- 
vited to  the  university  of  Cohors,  and  thence  to  Bourges. 
The  king  of  France  shewed  him  every  honour,   and  per- 
mitted him  to  sit  amongst  his   counsellors   of  parliament. 
Emanuel   Philibert,  duke  of  Savoy,  invited  him  to  Turin  ; 
and  pope  Gregory  XHI.  endeavoured  to  draw  him  to  Bo- 
Jogna,  his  own  native  countrv,   a  very  advantageous  offer, 
which  his  age  and  infirmities  did  not  permit  iiim  to  accept. 
He  continued  to  teach  at  Bourges,    where  he  took  the 

»  Biog.  r.rir.— Fuller's  Worthies.— Ath.  Ox.  vol.  I.— Waitou's  Life  of  Sir  T, 
Pope,  p.  2J0. — Tunaer. 


C  U  J  A  C  1  U  S.  117 

greatest  pleasure  in  communicating  familiarly  to  his  friends 
and  scliulars  vvluitever  lie  had  discovered  in  the  law,  and 
shewed  them  the  shortest  and  easiest  way  to  come  to  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  that  science.  He  was  remarkable 
for  his  friendly  manner  of  treating  his  scholars.  He  used 
to  eat  and  drink  with  them  ;  and,  to  encourage  them  in 
their  studies,  lent  them  money  and  books,  which  pro- 
cured him  the  name  of  "  Father  of  iiis  scholars."  He  died 
at  Bourges  1590;  and  his  works  were  first  published  at 
Paris,  lo'Si,  folio,  and  afterwards  by  C.  Hannibal  Fabrot, 
at  Paris,  in  10  vols.  1659,  folio,  which  is  reckoned  the 
best  edition.  With  respect  to  his  religious  principles,  in 
the  critical  times  in  which  he  lived,  we  are  told  that  when 
his  opinion  was  asked  about  some  questions  in  divinity, 
then  agitated  with  great  warmth,  he  answered,  "  Nil  hoc 
ad  edictum  praetoris  :"  which  Gallio-like  answer  subjected 
him  to  the  suspicion  of  indifference  in  religious  matters.^ 

CULLEN  (William),  one  of  the  most  eminent  phy- 
sicians of  the  last  century,  was  born  Dec.  11,  1712,  of 
respectable  though  indigent  parents  in  Lanarkshire.  Hav- 
ing served  a  short  apprenticeship  to  a  surgeon  and  apo- 
thecary in  Glasgow,  he  obtained  the  place  of  a  surgeon  in 
one  of  ihrf  merchant's  vessels  from  London  to  the  West 
Indies.  Not  liking  his  employment,  he  returned  to  his 
own  county,  where  he  practised  a  short  time  in  the  parish 
of  Shotts,  among  the  farmers  and  country  people,  and 
then  removed  to  Hamilton,  intending  to  practise  there  as 
a  physician.  Wliile  he  resided  near  Shotts,  Archibald 
duke  of  Argyle  made  a  visit  to  a  gentleman  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood. His  "race  was  encraired  in  some  chemical  re- 
searches  which  required  elucidation  by  experiments,  for 
which  he  then  wanted  the  proper  apparatus.  The  gentle- 
man, recollecting  young  CuUen,  mentioned  him  as  the 
person  vvho  could  most  probably  supply  his  wants.  He 
was  consequently  invited  to  dinner,  and  presented  to  the 
duke,  with  whom  hs  commenced  an  acquaintance,  to 
which  he  was  probably  indebted  for  all  his  future  fortune. 
The  name  of  Cullen  having  thus  become  known,  his  repu- 
tation as  a  practitioner  was  soon  established  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  duke  of  Hamilton  likewise  happened  then 
to  be  for  a  short  time  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  having 

1   Moreri. — Diet.  Hist. — Freheri  Theatrum. — Blount's  Censura. — Saxii   Ono- 
mast. — Of  his  tomb,  se*  Gent.  Ala-,  vol.  X.XXVIII.  from  the  Huetiana. 


118  C  U  L  L  E  N. 

been  suddenly  taken  ill,  was  induced  by  the  character 
which  he  had  heard  of  CuUen  to  send  for  his  assistance, 
and  was  not  only  benetited  b}^  his  skill,  but  amply  gratified 
with  his  conversation.  He  accordingly  obtanied  for  him  a 
place  in  the  university  of  Glasgow,  where  his  talents  soon 
became  more  conspicuous.  It  was  not,  however,  solely  to 
the  favour  of  these  two  o-reat  men  that  Cullen  owed  his 
literary  fame.  He  was  recommended  to  the  notice  of  men 
of  science  in  a  way  still  more  honourable  to  himself.  The 
disease  of  the  duke  of  Hamilton  having  resisted  the  effect 
of  the  first  applications,  Dr.  Clarke  was  sent  for  from 
Edinburgh;  and  he  was  so  much  pleased  with  every  thing 
that  Cuilen  had  done,  that  he  becanse  his  eulogist  upon 
ever}?^  occasion.  Cuilen  never  forgot  this ;  and  wiien 
Clarke  died,  gave  a  public  oration  in  his  praise  in  the 
university  of  Edinburgh  ;  which,  it  is  believed,  was  the 
lirst  of  the  kind  in  that  kingdom. 

During  his  residence  in  the  country,  several  important 
incidents  occurred,  that  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  in 
silence.  It  was  during  this  time  that  a  connexion  in 
business  was  formed  in  a  very  humble  line  between  two 
men,  who  became  afterwards  eminently  conspicuous  in 
much  more  exalted  stations.  William,  (afterwards  Doctor) 
Hunter,  the  famous  lecturer  on  anatomy  in  London,  was  a 
native  of  the  same  part  of  the  country  ;  and  these  two 
young  men,  stimulated  by  the  impulse  of  genius  to  prose- 
cute their  medical  studies  with  ardour,  but  thwarted  by  the 
narrowness  of  their  fortune,  entered  into  a  copartnership 
business  as  surgeons  and  apothecaries  in  the  country.  The 
chief  end  of  their  contract  being  to  furnish  the  parties  with 
the  means  of  prosecuting  their  medical  studies,  which 
they  could  not  separatel}'  so  well  enjoy,  it  was  stipulated, 
that  one  of  them  alternately  should  be  allowed  to  study  in 
what  college  he  inclined,  during  the  winter,  while  the 
other  should  carry  on  the  business  in  the  countr}^  for  their 
common  advantage.  In  consequence  of  this  agreement, 
Cuilen  was  first  allowed  to  study  in  the  university  of  Edin- 
burgh for  one  winter  ;  but  when  it  came  to  Hunter's  turn 
next  winter,  he,  preferring  London  to  Edinburgh,  went 
thither.  There  his  sinoular  neatness  in  dissecting,  and 
uncommon  dexterity  in  making  anatomical  preparations, 
his  assiduity  ia  study,  his  mildness  of  manner,  and 
][)liabiiity  of  temper,  soon  recommended  him  to  the  notice 
uf  Dr.  Douglass,  who  then  read  lectures  upon  anatomy  and 


C  U  L  L  E  N.  119 

midwifery  there  ;  who  enjraGfed  Hunter  as  an  assistant,  and 
whose  chair  he  afterwards  filled  with  so  much  honour  to 
himself  and  satisfaction  to  the  public.  Thus  was  dissolved, 
in  a  premature  manner,  a  partnership  perhaps  of  as  singu- 
lar a  kind  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  annals  of  literature  ;  nor 
was  Cullen  a  man  of  that  disposition  to  let  any  engagement 
with  him  prove  a  bar  to  his  partner's  advancement  in  life. 
The  articles  were  freely  given  up  by  him  ;  and  Cullen  and 
Hunter  ever  after  kept  up  a  very  cordial  and  friendly  cor- 
respondence ;  though,  it  is  believed,  they  never  from  that 
time  had  a  personal  interview. 

During  the  time  that  Cullen  practised  as  a  country  sur- 
geon and  apothecary,  he  formed  another  connexion  of  a 
more  permanent  kind,  which,  happily  for  him,  was  not 
dissolved  till  a  very  late  period  of  his  life.  Very  early  in 
life  he  took  a  strong  attachment  to  an  amiable  woman,  a 
Miss  Johnston,  daughter  to  a  clergyman  in  that  neighbour- 
hood, nearly  of  his  own  age,  who  was  prevailed  on  to  marry 
him,  at  a  time  when  he  had  nothing  else  to  recommend  him, 
except  his  person  and  dispositions.  She  was  beautilul, 
bad  great  good  sense,  equanimity  of  temper,  an  anjiable 
disposition,  and  elegance  of  maimers,  and  brought  with 
her  a  little  money,  which,  however  small  in  modern  calcu- 
lation, was  important  in  those  days  to  one  in  his  situation 
in  life.  After  giving  to  uim  a  numerous  family,  and  par- 
ticipating with  him  the  changes  of  fortune  which  he  expe- 
rienced, she  peacefully  departed  this  life  in  summer  1786. 

In  the  year  1716,  Cullen,  who  had  now  taken  the  de- 
gree of  doctor  in  physic,  was  appointed  a  lecturer  in  che- 
mistry in  the  university  of  Glasgow;  and  in  the  month  of 
October  be<ran  his  lectures  in  that  science.  His  singular 
talents  for  arrangement,  his  distinctness  of  enunciation,  his 
vivacity  of  manner,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  science  he 
taught,  rendered  his  lectures  interesting  to  the  students  to 
a  decree  that  had  been  till  then  unknown  at  that  univer- 
sity.  He  became,  therefore,  in  some  measure,  adored  by 
the  students.  The  former  professors  were  eclipsed  by  the 
brilliancy  of  his  reputation  :  and  he  had  to  experience  all 
those  little  rubs  that  envy  and  disap|)ointed  ambition  natu- 
rally threw  in  his  way.  Regardless,  however,  of  these,  he 
pressed  forward  with  ardour  in  his  literary  career;  and, 
supported  by  the  favour  of  the  public,  he  consoled  himself 
lor  the  contumely  he  met  with  from  a  few  individuals.  His 
practice  as  a  physician  increased  frcm  day  to  day  ;  and  a 


120  C  U  L  L  E  N. 

vacancy  having  occurred  in  the  year  1751,  he  was  then  ap- 
pointed by  the  king  professor  of  medicine  in  that  univer- 
sity. This  new  appointment  served  only  to  call  forth  his 
powers,  and  to  bring  to  light  talents  that  it  was  not  for- 
merly known  he  possessed  ;  so  that  his  fame  continued  to 
increase. 

As,  at  that  period,  the  patrons  of  the  university  of  Edin- 
burgh were  desirous  of  engaging  the  most  eminent  medical 
men  to  support  the  rising  iame  of  the  college,  their  atten- 
tion was  soon  directed  towards  CuUen  ;  who,  on  the  death 
of  Dr.  Plummer,  professor  of  chemistry,  was,  in  1756, 
unanimously  invited  to  accept  the  vacant  chair.  This  in- 
vitation he  accepted  :  and  having  resigned  all  his  employ- 
ments in  Glasgow,  he  began  his  academical  career  in 
Edinburgh  in  the  month  of  October  of  that  year;  and 
there  he  resided  till  his  death.  If  the  admission  of  Culleii 
into  the  university  of  (jlasgow  gave  great  spirit  to  the 
exertions  of  the  students,  this  was  still,  if  possible,  more 
strongly  felt  in  Edinburgh.  Chemistry,  which  had  been 
till  that  time  of  small  account  in  that  university,  and  was 
attended  to  by  very  few  of  the  students,  instantly  became 
a  favourite  study  ;  and  the  lectures  upon  that  science  were 
miore  frequented  than  any  others  in  the  university,  ana- 
tomy alone  excepted.  The  students,  in  general,  spoke  of 
Culleu  with  the  rapturous  ardour  that  is  natural  to  youth 
when  they  are  highly  pleased.  These  eulogiums  appeared 
extravagant  to  moderate  men,  and  could  not  fail  to  prove 
disgusting  to  his  colleagues.  A  party  was  formed  among 
the  students  for  opposing  this  new  favourite  of  the  public  ; 
and  these  students,  by  misrepresenting  the  doctrines  of 
Cullen  to  others,  who  could  not  have  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  these  doctrines  themselves,  made  even  some  of 
the  most  intelligent  men  in  the  university  think  it  their 
duty  publicly  to  oppose  these  imaginary  tenets.  The  fer- 
ment was  thus  augmented  ;  and  it  was  some  time  before 
the  j^rofessors  discovered  the  arts  by  which  they  had  been 
imposed  upon,  and  universal  harmony  was  then  restored. 

During  this  time  of  public  ferment,  Cullen  went  stea- 
dily forward,  without  taking  any  part  himself  in  these  dis- 
putes. He  never  gave  ear  to  any  tales  respecting  his  col- 
leagues, nor  took  any  notice  of  the  doctrines  they  taught. 
That  some  of  their  unguarded  strictures  might  at  times 
come  to  his  knowledge,  is  not  impossii)le  ;  but  if  they  did, 
they  seemed  t;o.  make  no  impression  on  his  mind.     These 


C  U  L  L  E  N.  121 

attempts  of  a  party  of  students  to  lower  the  cliaractcr  of 
C'uUen  oil  his  first  outset  in  the  university  of  Edinburgh 
having  proved  fruitless,  liis  fame  as  a  professor,  and  his 
reputation  as  a  physician,  became  more  and  more  respected 
every  day.  Nor  could  it  well  be  otherwise:  CuUen's  pro- 
fessional knowledge  was  always  great,  and  liis  manner  of 
lecturino-  sinjrularlv  clear  and  intelligible,  lively  and  enter- 
taining  ;  and  to  his  patients,  his  conduct  in  general  as  a 
physician  was  so  pleasing,  his  address  so  affable  and  en- 
gaging, and  his  manner  so  open,  so  kind,  and  so  little 
regulated  by  pecuniary  considerations,  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  those  who  had  occasion  to  call  once  for  his  medi- 
cal assistance,  ever  to  be  satisfied  on  any  future  occasion 
without  it.  He  became  the  friend  and  companion  of  every 
family  he  visited  ;  and  his  future  acquaintance  could  not 
be  dispensed  with. 

Dr.  Cullen  also  was  justly  admired  in  his  conduct  to  his 
scholars,  which  was  so  attentive,  and  the  interest  he  took 
in  the  private  concerns  of  all  those  students  who  applied 
to  him  for  advice,  vvas  so  cordial  and  so  warm,  that  it  was 
impossible  for  any  one  who  had  a  heart  susceptible  of  ge- 
nerous feelings,  not  to  be  enraptured  with  attentions  so 
uncommon  and  kind.  The  general  conduct  of  Cullen  to" 
his  students  was  this.  With  all  such  as  he  observed  to  be 
attentive  and  diligent,  he  formed  an  early  acquaintance, 
by  inviting  them  by  twos,  by  threes,  or  by  fours  at  a  time, 
to  sup  with  him,  conversing  with  them  on  these  occasions 
with  the  most  engaging  ease,  and  freely  entering  with 
them  on  the  subject  of  their  studies,  their  amusements, 
their  difficulties,  their  hopes,  and  future  prospects.  In 
this  way,  he  usually  invited  the  whole  of  his  numerous 
class,  till  he  made  himself  acquainted  with  tlieir  abilities, 
their  private  character,  and  their  objects  of  pursuit.  Those 
amon<r  them  whom  he  found  most  assiduous,  best  dis- 
posed,  or  the  most  friendless,  he  invited  the  most  fre- 
quently, till  an  intimacy  was  gradually  formed,  which 
proved  highly  beneficial  to  them.  Their  doubts,  with  re- 
gard to  their  objects  of  study,  he  listened  to  with  atten- 
tion, and  solved  with  the  most  obliging  condescension. 
His  library,  which  consisted  of  an  excellent  assortment  of 
the  best  books,  especially  on  medical  subjects,  was  at  all 
times  o[)en  for  their  accommodation  ;  and  his  advice,  in 
every  case  of  difficulty  to  them,  they  always  had  it  in  their 
power  most  readily  to  obtain.     They  seemed  to  be  his. 


I2i  C  U  L  L  E  N. 

family;  and  few  persons  of  distinguished  merit  have  left 
the  university  of  Edinburgh  in  liis  time,  with  wliom  he  did 
not  keep  up  a  correspondence  till  they  were  fairly  estab- 
lished in  business.  By  these  means,  he  came  to  have  a 
most  accurate  knowledge  of  the  state  of  every  countr}', 
with  respect  to  practitioners  in  the  medical  line:  the  only 
use  he  made  of  which  knowledge,  was  to  direct  students 
in  their  choice  of  places,  where  they  might  have  an  op- 
portunity of  engaging  in  business  with  a  reasonable  pro- 
spect of  success.  Many,  very  many  able  men  has  he  thus 
placed  in  situations  of  business  which  they  never  could 
have  thought  of  themselves;  and  some  of  them  even  now 
are  reaping  the  fruits  of  this  beneHcent  foresight  on  his 
part. 

Nor  was  it  in  this  way  only  that  he  befriended  the  stu- 
dents at  the  university  of  Edinburgh.  Possessing  a  bene- 
volence of  mind  that  made  him  ever  think  first  of  the  wants 
of  others,  and  recollecting  the  difficulties  that  he  himself 
struggled  with  in  his  younger  days,  he  was  at  all  times 
singularly  attentive  to  their  pecuniary  concerns.  From  his 
general  acquaintance  among  the  students,  and  the  friendly 
habits  he  was  in  with  many  of  them,  he  found  no  difficulty 
in  discovering  those  among  them  who  were  rather  in  low 
circumstances,  without  being  obliged  to  hurt  their  delicacy 
in  any  degree.  To  such  persons,  when  their  habits  of 
study  admitted  of  it,  he  was  peculiarly  attentive.  They 
were  more  frequently  invited  to  his  house  than  others  ; 
they  were  treated  wilii  more  than  usual  kindness  and  fami- 
liarity ;  they  were  conducted  to  his  library,  and  encou- 
raged by  the  most  delicate  address  to  borrow  from  it  freely 
whatever  books  he  thought  they  had  occasion  for :  and  as 
persons  in  these  circumstances  were  usually  more  shy  in 
this  respect  than  others,  books  were  sometimes  pressed 
upon  them  with  a  sort  of  constraint,  b}^  the  doctor  insist- 
ing to  have  their  opinion  of  such  or  such  passages  they  had 
not  read,  and  desiring  them  to  carry  the  book  home  for 
that  purpose.  He  in  short  behaved  to  them  rather  as  if  he 
courted  their  company,  and  stood  in  need  of  their  ac- 
quaintance, than  they  of  his.  He  thus  raised  them  in  the 
opinion  of  their  acquaintance  to  a  much  higher  degree  of 
estimation  than  they  could  otherwise  have  obtained,  which, 
to  people  whose  minds  were  depressed  by  penury,  and 
whose  sense  of  honour  was  sharpened  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  an  inferiority   of  a  certain  kind,  was  singularly 


C  U  L  L  E  N. 


123 


engaging.  Thus  were  they  inspired  with  a  secret  sense  of 
Uigiiity,  which  elevated  their  minds,  and  excited  an  un- 
common ardour  of  pursuit,  instead  ot"  that  njehuicholy 
inactivity  whicli  is  so  natural  in  such  circumstances,  and 
which  too  often  leads  to  despair.  Nor  w;is  lie  less  delicate 
in  the  manner  of  supplying  their  wanis,  than  attentive  to 
discover  them.  He  olten  found  out  some  polite  excuse 
for  refusing  to  take  payment  for  a  first  course  of  lectures, 
and  never  was  at  a  loss  for  one  to  an  after-course,  and  by 
other  delicate  expedients  he  befriended  those  }oiuig  tneii 
whose  circumstances  were  not  equal  to  their  merit  and  in- 
dustry. It  was  also  a  constant  ride  with  him  never  to  take 
fees  as  a  physician  from  any  student  at  the  university ;  yet 
when  called  in,  he  attended  them  with  the  same  assiduity 
as  if  they  had  been  persons  of  the  first  rank,  who  paid  him 
most  liberally.  This  gradually  induced  others  to  adopt  a 
similar  practice;  so  that  it  became  a  general  rule  for  me- 
dical professors  to  decline  taking  any  fees  when  their  as- 
sistance was  necessary  to  a  student.  For  this  useful  re- 
form, with  many  others,  the  students  of  the  university  of 
Edinburgh  are  solely  indebtetl  to  the  liberality  of  Dr. 
Cullen*. 

The  first  lectures  which  CuUen  delivered  in  Edinburgh 
were  on  chemistry  ;  and  for  many  years  he  also  gave  clini- 
cal lectures  on  the  cases  which  occurred  in  the  Royal  In- 
firmary.    In  the  month  of  February  1763,  Dr.  Alston  died, 


*  The  following  anecdote  relative  to 
this  subject  is  not  unamiising :  A  me- 
dical student  who  lodg'ed  in  the  same 
bouse  with  Dr.  Anderson  the  agricul- 
turist, in  1760,  and  wiio  attended  at 
that  time  a  course  of  lectures  given  by 
one  of  the  medical  professors,  but  who 
never  had  attended  Cullen's  class, 
happened  to  be  seized  with  the  small- 
pox, which  necessarily  detained  him 
from  the  class,  and  prevented  him  for 
the  time  from  receiving  any  benefit 
from  these  lectures.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  disorder,  the  young  man,  who 
waS  bulky,  and  in  a  full  habit  of  body, 
was  sick,  and  very  uneasy.  He  na- 
turally called  in  his  own  professor  as  a 
physician  ;  but  in  a  short  time  ilie 
sickness  abated,  and  the  small-pox,  of 
the  most  favourable  kind,  made  their 
appearance,  after  which  no  idea  of 
danger  could  be  apprehended.  In 
tiiis  state  of  things,  the  whole  family 
were  very  much  surprised  to  find  thai 


the  patient  called  in  the  assistance  of 
Dr.  Cullen  ;  but  he  said  he  had  rea- 
sons for  this  conduct,  that  he  knew 
they  would  approve  of  when  he  should 
state  them,  though  he  declined  to  do 
it  then.  By  and  by,  he  became  quite 
well ;  so  that  there  could  be  no  pre- 
text for  the  physicians  visiting  him 
any  longer.  In  this  situation,  he 
watched  his  op])Ortuni(y ;  and  when 
the  physicians  were  both  present,  he 
thanked  Dr.  Cullen  for  the  assistance 
he  had  given,  and  offered  hiin  money  : 
hut  this, as  he  hail  foreseen,  Cullen  posi- 
tively declined.  After  gently  inlreat- 
ing  him  to  take  it,  and  not  being  able 
to  prcvad,  lie  turned  to  his  own  pro- 
fessor, and  in  like  manner  offered  him 
money.  But  this,  for  shame,  he 
could  not  possibly  acccpl,  though  it 
was  not  known  that  this  gentleman  had 
ever  before  refused  a  fee  when  ofi'ered 
10  him. 


124  C  U  L  L  E  N. 

after  having  begun  his  usual  course  of  lectures  on  the  ma- 
teria meilica;  and  the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh,  as  patrons 
of  that   professorship    in    the    university,    ai)poiiited    Dr. 
Cullen  to  that  chair,  requesting  that  he  would    finish   the 
course  of  lectures  that  had  been  begun   for  that  season. 
This  he  agreed  to  do ;  and  though  he  was  under  a  neces- 
sity of  going  on  with  the  course  in  a  few  days  after  he  was 
nominated,  he  did  not  once  think  of  reading  the  lectures 
of  his  predecessor,  but  resolved  to  deliver  a  new  course, 
entirely  his  own.     The  popularity  of  Cullen   at  this  time 
may  be  guessed  at  by  the  increase  of  new  students  who 
came  to  attend  his  course  in  addition  to  the  eight  or  ten 
who  had  entered  to  Dr.  Alston.     The  new  students  ex- 
ceeded one  hundred.     An  imperfect  copy  of  these  lec- 
tures, thus  fabricated  in  haste,  having  been  published,  the 
doctor  thought  it  necessary  to  give  a  more  correct  edition 
of  them  in   the  latter  part  of  his   life;  but  his  faculties 
being  then  much  impaired,  his  friends   looked  in  vain  for 
those  striking  beauties  that  characterised  his  literary  exer- 
tions in  the  prime  of  life. 

Some  years  afterwards,  on  the  death  of  Dr.  White,  the 
magistrates  once  more  appointed  Dr.  Cullen  to  give  lec- 
tures on  the  theory  of  physic  in  his  stead.  And  it  was  on 
that  occasion  Dr.  Cullen  thought  it  expedient  to  resign 
the  chemical  chair  in  favour  of  Dr.  Black,  his  former  pupil, 
whose  talents  in  that  department  of  science  were  then  well 
known,  and  who  filled  the  chair  till  his  death  with  great 
satisfaction  to  the  public.  Soon  after,  on  the  death  of  Dr. 
Rutherford,  who  for  many  years  had  given  lectures  with 
applause  on  the  practice  of  physic,  Dr.  John  Gregory  havmg 
become  a  candidate  for  this  place  along  with  Dr.  Cullen, 
a  sort  of  compromise  took  place  between  them,  by  which 
they  agreed  each  to  give  lectures,  alternately,  on  the 
theory  and  on  the  practice  of  physic  during  their  joint 
lives,  the  longest  survivor  being  allowed  to  hold  either  of 
the  classes  he  should  incline.  In  conserpience  of  this  agree- 
ment, Dr.  Cullen  delivered  the  first  course  of  lectures  on 
the  practice  of  physic,  in  winter  1766;  and  Dr.  Gregory 
succeeded  him  in  that  branch  the  following  year.  Never, 
perhaps,  did  a  literary  arrangement  take  place,  that  could 
have  proved  more  beneficial  to  the  students  than  this. 
Both  these  men  possessed  great  talents,  though  of  a  kind 
extremely  dissimilar.  Both  of  them  had  certain  failings 
or  defects,  which  the  other  was  aware  of,  and  counteracted. 


C  U  L  L  E  N.  125 

Each  of  them  knew  and  respected  the  talents  of  the  other. 
7'hey  co-operated,  therefore,  in  tlie  happiest  manner,  to 
enlarge  the  understanding,  and  to  forward  the  pursuits  of 
their  pu):)lls.  Unfortunately  this  arrangement  was  soon 
destroyed,  by  the  unexpected  death  of  Dr.  Gregory,  who 
was  cut  off  in  the  flower  of  life  by  a  sudden  and  unfore- 
seen  event.      After  this  time,  Cullen  continued  to  oive 

...  "^ 

lectures  on  the  practice  of  physic  till  a  few  months  before 

his  death,  which  happened  on  the  5th  of  February,  lliJO, 
in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age. 

Although  much  of  the  character  of  this  learned  and 
amiable  man  may  be  collected  from  the  preceding  narra- 
tive, yet  the  following  circumstances  are  too  remarkable 
to  be  omitted.  In  his  lectures  Dr.  Cnllen  never  attempted 
to  read.  They  were  delivered  viva  voce,  without  having 
been  previously  put  into  writing,  or  thrown  into  any  par- 
ticular arrangement*.  The  vigour  of  his  mind  was  such, 
that  nothing  more  was  necessary  than  a  few  short  notes 
before  him,  merely  to  prevent  him  from  varying  from  the 
general  order  he  had  been  accustomed  to  observe.  This  gave 
to  his  discourses  an  ease,  a  vivacity,  a  variety,  and  a  force, 
that  are  rarely  to  be  met  with  in  academical  discourses. 
His  lectures,  by  consequence,  upon  the  same  subject, 
were  never  exactly  the  same.  Their  general  tenor  indeed 
was  not  nmch  varied  ;  but  the  particular  illustrations  were 
alwavs  new,  well  suited  to  the  circumstances  that  attracted 
the  general  attenticn  of  the  da}',  and  were  delivered  in 
the  particular  way  that  accorded  with  the  cast  of  mind  the 
prelector  found  himself  in  at  the  time.  To  these  circum- 
stances must  be  ascribed  that  energetic  artless  elocution, 
which  rendered  his  lectures  so  grencrailv  captivating:  to  his 
hearers.  Even  those  who  could  not  follow  him  in  those 
extensive  views  bis  penetrating  mind  glanced  at,  or  who 
were  not  able  to  understand  those  apt  allusions  to  collateral 
objects,  he  could  only  rapidly  point  at  as  he  went  along, 
could  not  help  being  v>arined  in  sorre  measure  by  the  vi- 
vacity of  his  manner.  But  to  those  who  could  follow  him 
in  his  rapid  career,  the  ideas  he  suggested  were  so  nu- 

*  This  was  the  casp,  however,  with  eye  one  moment  from  his  written  lec- 

some    oihcr   of   the,    eminent  m<;dical  ture  ;  ami  if  he  had  but  to  anBOiiiice  a 

professors   at  thai  time,    paiticularly  short  vacation,  or  recommend   a  book 

Dr.  Monro  and   Dr.  Black,  neither  of  to   the  perusal  of  liis  scholars,   each 

whom    read.      Of  all  the    Ei'.inbur^h  notice  was  penned,  and  read  «ub  great 

professors  in  oit  time.   Dr.  B!air  \ra^  precision. 
■  the  ouly  mau  who  could  not  trust  tiiS 


126  C  U  L  L  E  N. 

merous  ;  the  views  he  laid  open  were  so  extensive  ;  and 
the  objects  to  be  attained  were  so  important,  that  every 
active  faculty  of  the  mind  was  roused  ;  and  sue  h  an  ardour 
of  enthusiasm  was  excited  in  the  prosecution  of  study,  as 
appeared  to  be  inexphcable  to  those  who  were  merely  un- 
concerned spectators.  In  consequence  of  this  unshackled 
freedom  in  the  composition  and  delivery  of  his  lectures, 
every  circumstance  was  in  the  nicest  unison  with  the  tone 
of  voice,  and  expression  of  countenance,  which  the  par- 
ticular cast  of  mind  he  was  in  at  the  time  inspired.  Was 
he  joyous,  all  the  figures  introduced  for  illustration  were 
fitted  to  excite  hilarity  and  good  humour :  was  he  grave, 
the  objects  brought  under  view  were  of  a  nature  more 
solemn  and  grand  ;  and  was  he  peevish,  there  was  a  pe- 
culiarity of  manner,  in  thought,  in  word,  and  in  action, 
which  produced  a  most  striking  and  interesting  effect. 
The  languor  of  a  nerveless  uniformity  was  never  expe- 
rienced, nor  did  an  abortive  attempt  to  excite  emotions  that 
the  speaker  himself  could  not  at  the  time  feel,  ever  pro- 
duce those  discordant  ideas  which  prove  disgusting  and 
iinpleasing. 

It  would  seem  as  if  Dr.  CuUen  had  considered  the 
proper  business  of  a  preceptor  to  be  that  of  putting-  his 
pupils  into  a  proper  train  of  study,  so  as  to  enable  them 
to  prosecute  those  studies  at  a  future  period,  and  to  carry 
them  on  much  farther  than  the  short  time  allowed  for  aca- 
demical prelections  would  admit.  He  did  not,  therefore, 
so  much  strive  to  make  those  who  attended  his  lectures 
deeply  versed  in  the  particular  details  of  objects,  as  to  trive 
them  a  general  view  of  the  whole  subject;  to  shew  what 
had  been  already  attained  respecting  it  ;  to  point  out  what 
remained  yet  to  be  discovered  ;  and  to  put  them  into  a 
train  of  study  that  should  enable  them  at  a  future  period 
to  remove  those  difficulties  that  had  hitherto  obstructed 
our  progress  ;  and  thus  to  advance  of  themselves  to  fartiier 
and  farther  degrees  of  perfection.  If  these  were  his  views, 
nothing  could  be  more  happily  adapted  to  them  than  the 
mode  he  invariably  pursued.  He  first  drew,  with  the 
striking  touches  of  a  master,  a  rapid  and  general  outline  of 
the  subject,  by  which  the  whole  figure  was  seen  at  once 
to  start  boldly  from  the  canvas,  distinct  in  all  its  parts,  and 
unmixed  with  any  other  object.  He  then  began  anew  to 
retrace  the  picture,  to  touch  up  the  lesser  parts,  and  to 
finish  the  whole  in  as  perfect  a  manner  as  the  state  of  our 


C  U  L  L  E  N.  127 

knowledge  at  the  time  would  permit.  Where  materials 
were  wanting,  the  picture  there  continued  to  remain  im- 
perfect. The  wants  were  thus  rendered  obvious  ;  and  the 
means  of  supplying  these  were  pointed  out  with  the  most 
careful  discrimination.  The  student,  whenever  he  looked 
back  to  the  subject,  perceived  the  defects  ;  and  his  hopes 
beinor  awakened,  he  felt  an  irresistible  impulse  to  explore 
that  hitherto  untrodden  path  which  had  been  pointed  out 
to  him,  and  hil  up  the  chasm  which  still  remained.  Thus 
were  the  active  faculties  of  the  mind  most  powerfully  ex- 
cited ;  and  instead  of  labouring  himself  to  supply  defi- 
ciencies Jiat  far  exceeded  the  power  of  any  one  man  to 
accomplish,  he  set  thousands  at  work  to  fulfil  the  task,  and 
put  them  into  a  train  of  going  on  with  it. 

It  was  to  these  talents,  and  to  this  mode  of  applying 
them,  that  Dr.  CuUen  owed  his  celebrity  as  a  professor; 
and  it  was  in  this  manner  that  he  has  perhaps  done  more 
towards  the  advancement  of  science  than  any  other  man  of 
his  time,  though  many  individuals  might  perhaps  be  found 
who  were  more  deeply  versed  in  the  particular  departments 
he  taught  than  he  himself  was.  Chemistry,  which  was 
before  his  time  a  most  disgusting  pursuit,  was  by  him  ren- 
dered a  study  so  pleasing,  so  easy,  and  so  attractive,  that 
it  is  now  prosecuted  by  numbers  as  an  agreeable  recrea- 
tion, who  but  for  the  lights  that  were  thrown  upon  it  by 
Cullenand  his  pupils,  would  never  have  thought  of  engaging 
in  it  at  all. 

According  to  a  man  who  knew  him  well,  there  were  three 
things  which  eminently  distinguished  Cullen  as  a  professor. 
'*  Ttie  energy  of  his  mind,  by  which  he  viewed  every  sub- 
ject witij  ardour,  and  combinetl  it  immediately  with  the 
whole  of  his  knowledge.  The  scientific  arrangement  which 
he  gave  tD  his  subject,  by  which  there  was  a  lacidm  ordo 
to  the  dullest  scholar.  He  was  the  first  person  in  this 
country  who  made  chemistry  cease  to  be  a  chaos.  A  won- 
derful art  of  interesting  the  students  in  every  thing  which  he 
taught,  and  of  raising  an  emulative  enthusiasm  among 
them."     . 

For  some  years  before  Dr.  CuUen's  death,  his  friends 
perceived  a  sensible  decline  of  that  ardour  and  energy  of 
mind  which  so  strongly  characterised  him  at  a  former  pe- 
riod. Strangers  who  had  never  seen  him  before,  could 
not  be  sensible  of  this  change  ;  nor  did  any  marked  decline 
in  him  strike  them  ;  for  his  natural  vivacity  still  was  such 


128  C  U  L  L  E  N. 

as  might  pass  in  general  as  the  unabated  vigour  of  one 
in  prime  of  hfe.  Yet  then,  though  his  vigour  of  body  and 
mind  were  greater  than  others  of  his  own  age,  it  siiould  never 
be  forgot  that  tlie  vigour  of  old  age  is  but  feeble,  and  the 
utmost  energy  of  senility  bears  no  resemblance  to  that  gi- 
gantic ardour  which  characterises  the  man  of  genius  in  tiie 
prime  of  life.  Cuilen  to  the  last  was  great;  but  how  dif- 
ferent from  what  he  had  been,  those  alone  could  tell  who 
had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  him  in  both  situations,  and 
who  had  at  the  same  time  not  an  opportunity  of  perceiving 
the  change  imperceptibly  advance  upon  him,  during  the 
lapse  of  a  continued  intercourse. 

Dr.  Cullen's  external  appearance,  though  striking,  and 
not  unpleasing,  was  not  elegant.  His  countenance  was 
expressive,  and  his  eye  in  particular  remarkably  lively, 
and  at  times  wonderfully  penetrating.  In  his  person  he 
was  tall  and  thin,  stooping  very  much.  When  he  walked, 
he  had  a  contemplative  look,  and  did  not  seem  much  to 
regard  the  objects  around  him. 

Dr.   Cullen's  writings   are  noticeable  rather  from  their 
importance  than  number.      We  have  mentioned   that  he 
never  wrote  his  lectures.     Copies  of  them,  however,  were 
taken  in  short-hand,  and  lent  out  to  such  students  as  wished 
to  make  transcripts.     Finding  on  one  occasion  that  his  lec- 
tures  on   the  materia  medica  were   printing,  he  obtained 
an  injunction  against  their  being  issued  until  he  had  cor- 
rected them  ;  and  they  were  permitted  to  appear  in  1772. 
In    1789   he  gave  an   enlarged  and    improved   edition   of 
them,  in  2  vols.  4to.      Fearing  a  similar  fate  to  his  "  Lec- 
tures on  the  Practice  of  Medicine,"  he  published  them  in 
1784,   in   4  vols.   8vo,   under  the  title   of  "  First  Lines." 
But  his  most  esteemed  work  is  his   "  Synopsis  Nosologias 
Practicse,"  in   2  vols.  8vo,  which  has  passed  through  se- 
veral editions;  the  fourth,  published  in  1785,  contains  his 
last  corrections.     The  first  volume  contains  the  nosologies 
of  Sauvages,  Linnaeus,  Vogcl,  iSagar,  andMucbride;   the 
second  his  own,  manifestly  an  improvement  on  those  of 
his  precursors.     A  small  publication   concerning  the  reco- 
very of  persons  drowned,  and  seemingly  dead,  completes 
the  works  of  this  eminent  professor.' 

CULLUM  (Sir  John),  an  accomplished  antiquary,  de- 
scended from  a  family  seated  in  Suffolk  early  in  the  fifteenth 

*  Life  by  Dr.  James  Anderson,  in  vol.  I.  of  the  Bee. 


C  U  L  L  U  M.  129 

century,  and  at  Hawsted  in  that  county  in  1656,  of  which 
latter  place  he  has  himself  been  the  historian,  was  born  in 
1733  ;  educated  at  Catherine-hall,  Cambridge,  of  which  so- 
ciety he  was  afterwards  fellow  ;  and  obtained  tlie  first  senior 
bachelor's  dissertation  prize  in  1758.  In  April  1762  he  was 
presented  to  the  rectory  of  Hawsted,  in  Suffolk,  by  his 
father,  who  died  in  1774;  as  did  his  mother  in  1784.  In 
March  1774,  he  became  F.  S.  A. ;  in  December  that  year 
he  was  instituted  to  the  vicarage  of  Great  Thurlow,  in  the 
same  county,  on  the  presentation  of  his  brother-in-law, 
the  late  Henry  Vernon,  esq.;  and  in  March  1775  was 
elected  F.  R.  S.  His  admirable  History  of  the  Parish  of 
Hawsted  (of  which  he  was  lord  and  patron),  and  Hardwick 
House,  a  perfect  model  for  every  work  of  the  same  nature, 
was  originally  published  as  the  twenty-third  number  of  the 
**  Bibliotheca  Topographica  Britannica,"  and  has  in  the 
present  year  (1813)  been  again  offered  to  the  public  in  a 
superior  style  of  typography,  with  the  addition  of  seven 
jiew  plates. 

What  collections  sir  John  CuUutn  possessed  of  his  own 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Martin's,  for  the  county  of  Suffolk,  may 
be  seen  in  Mr,  Gough's  "  Anecdotes  of  British  Topogra- 
phy," vol.  II,  pp.  242,  247.  Besides  a  variety  of  notes 
taken  in  his  tours  about  England,  he  communicated  to  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  :  Observations  on  Cedars,  vol. 
XLIX.  p.  138,  and  on  Yew-trees  in  Church-yards,  ib. 
.578  ;  to  the  Phil.  Trans,  vol.  LXXIV.  an  Account  of  an 
Extraordinary  Frost;  and  to  the  Antiquarian  Repertor}', 
No.  32,  an  Account  of  St,  Mary's  church  at  Bury.  He 
also  revised  the  second  edition,  1771,  of  the  description 
of  that  ancient  town. 

That  sir  John  Cullutn  was  a  profound  antiquar}',  a  good 
natural  historian,  and  an  elegant  scholar,  the  "  History  of 
Hawsted"  sufficiently  evinces.  That  he  most  punctually 
and  conscientiously  discharged  the  proper  duties  of  his 
profession  as  a  divine,  has  been  testified  by  the  grateful  re- 
collection of  his  parishioners.  His  discourses  in  the  pulpit 
were  plain,  unaffected,  and  rarely  in  any  degree  contro- 
versial ;  adapted  to  the  village  congregation  which  he 
gladdened  by  residing  very  near  them.  His  attention  to 
their  truest  interest  was  unremitted,  and  his  example  their 
best  guide.  His  friendships  in  private  life  were  amiable  ; 
and  in  his  general  commerce  with  the  v.orld,  the  uniform 
placidity  of  his  manners,  and  his  extensive  literary  ac- 
VOL.  XL  K 


130  C  U  L  L  U  M. 

quirements,  secured  to  him  universal  esteem.  He  was 
among  the  most  valued  correspondents  of  Mr.  Gough,  who 
sincerely  lamented  his  loss.  A  specimen  of  his  familiar 
letters  will  be  found  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1797, 
vol.  LXVII.  p.  995. 

Sir  John  Cullum  died  Oct.  9,  1785,  in  the  fifty-second 
year  of  his  age  ;  and  was  buried  (according  to  the  express 
direction  of  his  will,  dated  Dec.  1,  1784),  in  the  church- 
yard at  Hawsted,  under  the  great  stone  that  lies  at  the 
north  door  of  the  church.  His  relict,  dame  Peggy  Cul- 
lum, the  daughter  of  Daniel  Bisson,  esq.  of  West  Ham, 
died  Aug.  2,  1810,  aged  seventy-eight.  Dying  without 
issue,  the  title  devolved  on  his  brother,  now  sir  Thomas- 
Gery  Cullum,  hart.' 

CULPEPPER  (Nicholas),  student,  as  he  calls  him- 
self, in  physic  and  astrology,  was  born  in  London,  Oct. 
18,  1616.  He  was  the  son  of  a  clergyman,  by  whom  he 
was  sent,  after  receiving  a  preparatory  education,  to  the 
university  of  Cambridge,  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  There 
making  but  a  short  sta}",  he  was  put  apprentice  to  an  apo- 
thecary, under  whom  he  appears  to  have  acquired  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  the  materia  medica,  and  of  the  me- 
thod of  preparing  and  compounding  medicines.  On 
completing  the  term  of  his  apprenticeship,  he  came  to 
London,  and  settled  in  Spital-fields  about  1642.  By  the 
whole  tenor  of  his  writings  we  find  he  joined,  or  at  least 
favoured  the  Puritans,  and  those  who  were  engaged  in 
those  unhappy  times  in  overturning  the  constitution  of  the 
country.  But  his  warfare  was  with  the  college  of  physi- 
cians, whom  he  accused  of  craft  and  ignorance.  Like 
the  popish  clergy,  he  says  they  endeavoured  to  keep  the 
people  in  ignorance  of  what  might  be  useful  either  in  pre- 
serving or  restoring  health.  To  counteract  their  endea- 
vours, he  published,  in  1649,  a  translation  of  the  "Dis- 
pensary of  the  College  of  Physicians,"  in  small  4to,  adding 
to  the  account  of  each  drug  and  preparation  a  list  of  their 
supposed  virtues,  and  of  the  complaints  in  which  they 
were  usually  given.  He  also  published  an  "  Herbal,'* 
which  has  passed  through  several  editions,  and  is  still  in 
repute  as  a  sort  of  family  guide.  He  tells  in  this  book 
under  what  planet  the  plants  are  to  be  gathered,  which  he 

»  Life  by  Mr.  Nichols,  in  the  late  edition  of  the  History  of  Hawsted.  See 
also  some  of  his  correspondence  in  Granger's  Letters,  published  by  MalcoloU, 
p.  125.134. 


CULPEPPER.  131 

thinks  essential  in  preserving  their  virtues ;  but  Dr.  Pul- 
teney  says  his  descriptions  of  common  plants  are  drawn  up 
with  a  clearness  and  distinction  tliat  would  not  have  dis- 
graced a  better  pen.  He  intended  to  treat  of  the  diseases 
incident  to  men  at  the  different  periods  of  their  lives,  and 
as  a  beginning,  gave  a  directory  to  midwives,  on  the  me- 
thod of  insuring  a  healthy  progeny,  and  then  of  the  ma- 
nagement of  new-born  children.  Ihouiih  this  book  is  of 
very  small  value,  it  passed  through  many  editions.  He 
died  at  his  house  in  Spital-fields,  Jan.  10,  1653-4.' 

CULPEPER  or  CULPEPPER  (Sir  Thomas),  second 
son   of  sir  Thomas  Culpeper  of  Hollingbourne,  in  Kent, 
knifrht,   was  born  in    1636,    and   entered  a  commoner  of 
University  college,  Oxford,  in  the  beginning  of  1640,  and 
was  created  B.  A.  in  1643.     He  afterwards  travelled,  and 
on  his  return  was  elected  ])robationer  fellow  of  All  Souls* 
collefre,  but  soon  retired  to  his  estate  in  Kent,  and  after 
the  restoration  received  the  honour  of  knighthood.     When 
lie  died  is  not  ascertained,   but  probably  it  was  about  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century.     He  wrote:   1.  "Moral 
Discourses  and  Essays  upon  several  subjects,"  Lond.  1655, 
8vo.    2.   "  Considerations  touching  Marriage,"  4to.    3.  "  A 
Discourse  shewing  the  many  advantages,  which  will  accrue 
to  this  kingdom  by  the  abatement  of  usury.      Together 
with  the  absolute  necessity  of  reducing  interest  of  money 
%^  the  lowest  rate  it  bears  in  other  countries,"  ibid.    1668, 
4to.     This  occasioned  a  short  controversy,  in  consequence 
of  which  sir  Thomas  wrote,   4.  "  The  necessity  of  abating 
Usury,   re-asserted,"  ibid.    1670,  4to.     5,  "  Brief  Survey 
of  the  growth  of  Usury  in  England,   with  the  mischiefs 
attending  it,"  ibid.  1671,  4to.      6.   "  Humble  proposal  for 
the  relief  of  Debtors,  and  speedy  payment  of  their  Cre- 
ditors,"  ibid.  1671,  4to.      7.   "  Several   Objections  against 
the  Reducement  of  Interest,  propounded  in  a  letter,  with 
the  answer  thereto,"    ibid.    1671,  4to.     He  also   wrote  a 
preface  to  "  A  Tract  against  the  high  rate  of  Usury,  pre- 
sented to  the  parliament  in  1623,"   and  reprinted  by  him 
in  1668  :  it  was  originally  written  by  his  father,  sir  Thomas 
Culpeper,  who  died    in    1661,    and  appears  to   have  be- 
queathed to  his  son  his  sentimer.ts  on  usury,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  adjusting  the  interest  of  money  on  a  new  rate.' 

*  Rees's  Cyclopadia,  from  the  Gpiit.  Mag.  vol.  LXVM.  where  those  who  e.-»ri 
fi'cl  any  interest  in  Culpepper's  history,  m.iy  meet  witU  many  other  particulars 
«  Atb.  Ox.  vol.  II- -Cent.  Mag.  vol.  LXVII. 

K  2 


132  CUMBERLAND. 

CUMBERLAND  (Richard),  a  very  learned  divine,  and 
bishop  of  Peterborough,  the  son  of  an  honest  citizen  of 
London,  who  by  his  industry  acquired  a  competent,  though 
not  a  great  fortune,  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St.  Anne,  near 
Aldersgate,   July   15th,    1632.      He  was  educated   at  St. 
Paul's  school,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  John  Langley,  and  was 
moved  from  thence  to   Magdalen- college,  in   Cambridge, 
probably  in  1649,  where  he  was  contemporary  with  some 
very  worthy  and  learned  persons  ;  such  as  Dr.   Hezekiah 
Burton,    his    intimate    friend  and    acquaintance,    a   very 
learned  and  pious  divine  ;   Dr.  Hollings,  an  eminent  phy- 
sician at  Shrewsbury;  sir  Samuel  Moreland,  admired  for 
his  skill  in  the  mathematics ;  the  celebrated  Mr.  Pepys, 
secretary  to  the  admiralty  ;  and  the  lord  keeper  Bridge- 
man,  to  whom   himself,  and  his  friend  Dr.  Burton,   were 
chaplains    at  the   same   time.       He   was  very  remarkable, 
while  fellow  of  his  college,  for  his  diligent  application  to 
his  studies,  as  well  as  for  the  unaffected   piety  and   un- 
blemished probity  of  his  life.     He  took  his  degree  of  B.  A. 
in  1653,  and  in    1656  he  became  M.  A.  at  which  time  he 
had  thoughts  of  applying  himself  to  physic,  which  he  ac- 
tually studied  for  some  time.     He  was  incorporated  M.  A. 
in   the   university  of  Oxford,  July  14th,   1657,  and  went 
out  B.  D.  at  a  public  commencement  at  his  own  university, 
A.  D.  1663,  with  universal  applause.     His  first  preferment 
was  the  rectory  of  Brampton,  in   the  deanery  of  Haddon, 
in  the  archdeaconry  and  county  of  Northampton,  which 
was  given  him  by  sir  John  Norwich,  a  gentleman  who  de- 
scended of  a  most  ancient  and  noble  family,  and  was  ad- 
vanced  to  the  dignity  of  a  baronet  by  king   Charles  the 
First.     Mr.  Cumberland  was  admitted  December  3d,  1658, 
upon  the  demise  of  the  reverend  I\Ir.  John  Ward  ;  and 
after  the  restoration,  having  never  had  the  least  scruple  to 
the  authority  of  the  church,  he  had  a  legal  institution,  and 
read  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,    as  directed  by  law,    No- 
vember 24th,  1661,  and  was  the  same  year  appointed  one 
of  the  twelve  preachers  in  the  university  of  Cambridge. 
This,  however,  was  a  temporary  avocation'  only,  owing  to 
the  high  character  he  had  raised  by  the  masterly  manner 
in  which  he  had  performed  all  academical  exercises,  and 
from  which  he  quickly  returned  to  the  duties  of  his  paro- 
chial charge.     In  this  rural  retirement  he  minded  little  else 
than  the  duties  of  his  function,  and  his  studies.     His  re- 
laxations from  these  were  very  few,  besides  his  journies 


CUMBERLAND.  133 

to  Cambridge,  which  he  made  frequently,  to  preserve  a 
correspondence  with  his  learned  acquaintance  in  that  place. 
Here  he  might  probably  have  remained  during  the  course 
of  his  whole  life,  if  his  intin)ate  friend  and  kind  benefactor, 
sir  Orlando  Bridgeman,  upon  his  receiving  the  seals  in 
1667,  had  not  sent  for  him  up  to  London,  made  him  his 
chaplain,  and  soon  after  bestowed  upon  hiui  the  living  of 
Alhallows,  in  Stamford.  He  discharged  the  functions  of 
his  ministry  in  that  great  town  v.'ith  indefatigable  diligence; 
for,  besides  the  duties  incumbent  upon  him  by  his  pa- 
rochial charge,  he  accepted  of  the  weekly  lecture,  and 
then  preached  three  times  every  week  in  the  same  church, 
and  at  the  same  time  cultivated  his  philosophical,  mathe- 
matical, and  philological  studies.  He  gave  a  noble  proof 
of  this,  and  one  which  equally  demonstrated  the  soundness 
of  his  morals  and  the  solidity  of  his  parts,  in  publishing 
his  work  "  De  Legibus  Naturae  Disquisitio  philosophica," 
Lond.  1672,  4to,  written  while  he  was  chaplain  to  sir  Or- 
lando Bridgeman,  to  whom  it  was  dedicated,  and  there  is 
prefixed  to  it  a  short  preface  to  the  reader,  by  the  author's 
friend  and  fellow  chaplain  to  the  lord-keeper.  Dr.  Heze- 
kiah  Burton.  Dr.  Cumberland  being  at  a  distance  from 
the  press  when  this  book  was  published,  it  came  into  the 
world  very  incorrectly  printed,  and  in  subsequent  editions 
these  faults  were  multiplied  in  a  very  surprizing  manner. 
We  may  hence  form  an  idea  of  the  excellency  of  a  work 
that  could,  notwithstanding,  support  its  author's  reputa- 
tion both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  be  constantly  esteemed 
one  of  the  best  performances  that  ever  appeared,  and  that 
too  upon  one  of  the  nicest  and  most  important  subjects. 
Mr.  Payne  says  very  justly,  that  it  was  one  of  the  first 
pieces  written  in  a  demonstrative  way  on  a  moral  subject, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  most  perfect.  It  is  indeed  on  all 
hands  admitted,  that  Hobbes  was  never  so  closely  handled, 
or  his  notions  so  thoroughly  sifted,  as  by  Dr.  Cumberland. 
He  has,  however,  taken  a  new  road,  very  different  from 
Grotius,  Puffendorff,  and  other  writers,  more  difficult, 
and  less  entertaining  indeed,  but  at  the  same  time  much 
more  convincing.  It  was  desired  that  a  piece  of  such  ge- 
neral utility  should  be  made  better  known  by  being  put 
into  an  easier  method,  and  translated  into  the  Enirlish  Ian- 
guage.  This  the  author  would  not  oppose,  thougli  he  did 
not  undertake  it  ;  being  very  sensible  that  the  obscurity 
complained  of  by  some,  was  really  in  the  subject  itself. 


134  CUMBERLAND. 

and  would  be  found  so  by  those  who  meddled  with  it. 
The  project,  however,  was  pursued  by  James  Tyrrel,  esq. 
grandson  to  the  famous  archbishop  Usher,  who  published 
his  performance  under  the  following  title  :  *'  A  brief  Dis- 
quisition of  the  Law  of  Nature,  according  to  the  principles 
and  method  laid  down  in  the  reverend  Dr.  Cumberland's 
(now  lord  bishop  of  Peterburgh's)  Latin  treatise  on  that 
subject,  &c."  London,  1692,  Svo.  Mr.  Payne  had  also 
an  intention  to  have  translated  it,  but  was  anticipated  by 
the  rev.  John  Maxwell,  in  a  translation  published  at  Lon- 
don, 1727,  4to;  and  in  17  50  appeared  a  third  translation 
by  the  rev.  John  Towers,  D.  D.  prebendary  of  St.  Patrick's, 
Dublin,  4to,  Dublin,  with  large  explanatory  notes,  &c. 
In  1744,  Barbeyrac  published  a  French  translation. 

The  high  fame  and  repeated  praises  of  this  work  did 
rot  divert  the  author  from  his  studies  or  his  duties  ;  and  in 
his  station  of  a  private  clergyman,  so  great  was  his  repu- 
tation, that  he  was  importuned  by  the  university,  and  by 
other  acquaintance,  to  take  upon  him  the  weighty  exer- 
cise of  responding  at  the  public  commencement.  No- 
thinc:  but  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  friends  could  have 
prevailed  with  a  man  void  not  only  of  ambition,  but  of 
even  the  desire  of  applause,  to  appear  so  publicly.  This 
he  did  in  1680,  in  so  masterly  a  manner,  as  to  be  remem- 
bered for  many  years  after.  The  next  specimen  of  his 
abilities  was  his  "  Essay  on  Jewish  Measures  and  Weights," 
1686,  Svo,  a  work  not  only  highly  useful  in  its  nature, 
but  very  much  wanted,  and  was  therefore  received  with 
the  highest  applause  by  the  best  judges,  who  were  equally 
pleased  with  the  method  and  matter,  as  well  as  the  manner 
and  conciseness,  of  the  performance.  It  was  afterwards 
reprinted,  and  will  continue  to  support  the  reputation  of 
its  author,  as  long  as  this  kind  of  literature  is  either  en-- 
couraged  or  understood.  His  sincere  attachment  to  the 
protestant  religion  made  him  very  apprehensive  of  its 
danger  ;  and  the  melancholy  pi'ospect  of  affairs  in  the 
reign  of  king  James  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  him 
as  to  affect  his  health.  After  the  revolution  he  appears  to 
have  entertained  no  thoughts  of  soliciting  for  better  pre- 
ferment ;  and  it  was,  therefore,  a  greater  surprize  to  him- 
self than  to  any  body  else,  when  walking  after  his  usual 
manner,  on  a  post-day,  to  the  coffee-house,  he  read  there 
in  a  newspaper,  that  one  Dr.  Cumberland,  of  Stamford, 
was  named  to  the  bishopric  of  Peterborough.     This  piece 


CUMBERLAND.  13^ 

of  intelligence,  however,   proved  true,  and  he  had  the 
singular  satisfaction  of  finding  hinnself  raised  to  a  bishopric, 
not  only  without  pains  or  anxiety,  but   witliout  having  so 
much  as  sought  for  it ;  but  at  that  time  it  was  necessary  to 
the  establishment  of  the  new  government,  that  men  who 
were  to  be  raised  to  these  high  stations  in  the  church,  should 
be  such  only  as  had  been  most  eminent  for  their  learning, 
most  exemplary  in  their  lives,  and  firmest  to  the  protestant 
interest;   and  whilst  these  qualifications   were  only  con- 
sidered, the  king,  who  in  two  years'  time  had  appointed 
no  less  than  fifteen  bishops  of  the  above  character,  was 
told  that  Dr.  Cumberland  was  the  fittest  man  he  could  no- 
minate to  the  bishopric  of  Peterborough.     He  was  elected 
in  the  room  of  Dr.  Thomas  White,  who  refused  the  new 
oaths  May  15th;  was  consecrated  with  other  bishops,  July 
5th,    and  enthroned   September   I2th,    1691,    in  the  ca- 
thedral of  Peterborough.     He  now  applied  himself  to  the 
work  of  a  bishop,  making  no  omissions  to  consult  his  own 
ease,  or  to  spare  his  pains ;  and  the  desires  of  his  mind, 
that  all  under  him  should  do  their  duty,  were  earnest  and 
sincere.     His  composition  had  no  alloy  of  vain-glory.     He 
never  did  any  thing  to  court  applause,  or  gain  the  praise 
of  men.     He  never  acted  a  part,  never  put  on  a  mask. 
His  tongue   and  heart  always  went  together.     If  he  ran 
into  any  extreme,  it  was  the  excess  of  humility;  he  lived 
with  the  simplicity  and  plainness  of  a  primitive  bishop,  con- 
versed and  looked  like  a  private  man,  hardly  maintaining 
what  the  world  calls  the  dignity  of  his  character.     He  used 
hospitality  without  grudging ;    no   man's   house  was  more 
open  to  his  friends,  and  the  ease  and  freedom  with  which 
they   always   found  themselves  entertained,  was  peculiar 
to  it.     The  poor  had   substantial  relief  at   his  door,  and 
his  neighbours  and  acquaintance  a  hearty  welcome  to  his 
table,  after  the  plentiful  and  plain   manner   in   which  he 
lived.     Every  thing  in  his  house  served  for  friendly  en- 
tertainment, nothing  for  luxury  or  pomp.      His  desire  was 
to   make  every  body  easy,  and  to  do  them  good.     He  dis- 
pensed vv'ith  a  liberal  hand,  and  in  the  most  private  and 
delicate  manner,  to  the  necessities  of  others.      His  speeches 
to  the  clergy  at  his  visitations,  and  his  exhortations  to  the 
catechumens   before  his   confirmations,    though   they  had 
not  the  embellishments  of  oratory,  yet  they  were  fervent 
expressions   of  the  inward  desires  of  his  soul  to  do  what 
good  he  was  able,  and   to   excite  others  to  be  influenced 
by  it ;   the  pious  breathings  of  a  plain  and  good  mind. 


136  CUMBERLAND. 

On  all  occasions  he  treated  his  clergy  with  singular  regard 
and  indulgence.  An  expression  that  often  came  from  him, 
was,  '*  1  love  always  to  make  my  clergy  easy."  This  was 
his  rule  in  ail  applications  made  to  him  by  them,  and  if  he 
erred,  it  was  always  on  this  side.  When  the  duties  of  his 
office  required  it,  he  never  spared  himself.  To  the  last 
month  of  his  life  it  was  impossible  to  dissuade  him  from 
undertaking  fatigues  that  every  body  about  him  feared 
were  superior  to  his  strength.  He  was  inflexible  to  their 
intreaties,  and  his  answer  and  resolution  vyas,  "  I  will  do 
my  duty  as  long  as  I  can."  He  had  acted  by  a  maxim 
like  this  in  his  vigour.  When  his  friends  represented  to 
him,  that  by  his  studies  and  labours  he  would  injure  his 
health,  his  usual  reply  was,  *'  A  man  had  better  wear  out 
than  rust  out."  The  last  time  he  visited  his  diocese,  he 
was  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age ;  and  at  his  next  trien- 
nial, when  he  was  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age,  it 
was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  he  could  be  dissuaded 
from  undertaking  again  the  visitation  of  his  diocese.  To 
draw  the  clergy  nearer  than  the  usual  decanal  meetings, 
to  make  his  visitations  easier  to  himself,  was  a  thing  he 
would  not  hear  of.  Such  were  the  public  acts  of  this 
great  prelate  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  a  father  of  the 
church.  In  respect  to  his  temporal  concerns,  and  his  ma- 
nagement of  the  revenue  arising  from  his  see,  he  was  not 
less  liberal  and  munificent.  His  natural  parts  were  not 
quick,  but  strong  and  retentive.  He  was  a  perfect  master 
of  every  subject  he  studied.  Every  thing  he  read  staid 
with  him.  The  impressions  on  his  mind  were  some  time 
in  forming,  but  they  were  clear,  distinct,  and  durable. 
The  things  he  had  chiefly  studied,  were  researches  into 
the  most  ancient  times ;  mathematics  in  all  its  parts  ;  and 
the  Scripture  in  its  original  languages :  but  he  was  also 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  branches  of  philosophy, 
medicine,  and  anatomy,  and  was  a  good  classical  scholar. 
He  was  so  thoroughly  conversant  in  Scripture,  that  no  diffi- 
cult passage  ever  occurred,  either  occasionally,  or  in  reading, 
but  he  could  readily  give  the  meaning  of  it,  and  the  se- 
veral interpretations,  without  needing  to  consult  his  books. 
He  sometimes  had  thoughts  of  writing  an  exposition  of 
the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  Galatians,  with  a  view  to. 
set  the  doctrine  of  justification  in  a  light  very  different 
from  that  in  which  it  has  been  hitherto  considered  by  most 
divines,  but  what  that  light  was  we  are  not  told.     One  of 


CUMBERLAND.  137 

his  chief  objects  was  the  examination  of  Sanchonlatho's 
Phoenician    History,    about  which  the    greatest  men    had 
been   most  mistaken,  and   in  relation  to  which   none   had 
entered  into  so  strict  an   examination  as  our  learned  pre- 
late thought  it  deserved.     He  spent  many  years  in  these 
speculations  ;  for  he  began  to  write  several  years  before 
the  revolution,    and    he   continued  improving  his   design 
down   to    1702.      It  may  be  justly   wondered,  that,  after 
taking  so  much  pains,   and   carrying  a  work  of  such  diffi- 
culty  to    so   high    a    degree    of    perfection,     he     should 
never  judge    it  expedient  to  publish   it;    for  though   his 
bookseller  refused  to  print  the  first  part  at  a  critical  sea- 
son, yet  afterwards  both   might  have  seen   the  light;  and 
for  this  the   most  probable  reason    that    can   be  assigned 
is,    that    thorough   dislike    he    had    to    controversy.      His 
son-in-law,  ijowever,  the  rev.  Mr.  Payne,  has  done  justice 
to  his  memor}-,  and  published  it  under  the  title  of"  San- 
chonlatho's  PluEuician   History,    translated   from   the  first 
book  of  Eusebius  de  Preparatione  Evangelica,"  &c.  Lond. 
1720,   8vo.      Mr.   Payne  observes,   that  our  author  had  a 
quicker  sense  than  many  other  men,   of  the  advances   po- 
pery was  making  upon  us,  and  was  affected  with   the  ap- 
prehension of  it  to   the  last  degree.     This  made  him  turn 
his  thoughts  to  the  inquiry,  by  what  steps  and  methods 
idolatry  got  ground  in   the  world.     The  oldest  account  of 
this    he    believed   he   found    in    Sanchoniatho's   fragment. 
This   he    saw  was  a  professed  apology  for  idolatry,    and 
owned  openly  what  other  heathens  would  have  made  a  se- 
cret of,  that  the  gods  of  the  Gentile  world  had   been   all 
mortal  men.      He  studied  this  fraoment  with  no  other  view 
than  as  it  led  to   the  discovery  of  the  original  of  idolatry. 
He  spent  some  time  upon  it,  before  ever  he  had  a  thought 
of  extracting  from  it  footsteps  of  the  history  of  the  world 
preceding  the  flood.     While  other  divines  of  the  church  of 
England  were  engaged  in  the  controversy  with  the  papists, 
in  which  they  gained    over  them   so  complete   a  victory, 
our  author  was  endeavouring  to  strike  at  the  root  of  their 
idolatrous  reliirion.     These  frasrments  have  exercised   the 
talents  of  some  of  the  ablest  scholars  that  foreign  nations 
have  produced,  and  several  of  these,  being  able  to  make 
nothino-  clear  or  consistent  out  of  them,  incline  to  think 
they  were  forgeries,  and  consequently  not  worthy  of  no- 
tice.    Our  prelate  was   not  only  of  a  different  sentiment, 
f3ut  with  great  knowledge  and  great  labour,  has  made  it 


138  CUMBERLAND. 

very  evident  that  these  fragments  are  genuine,  and  that 
he  thoroughly  understood  them.  He  has  proved  that  they 
contain  the  most  ancient  system  of  atheism  and  idolatry ; 
that  very  system  which  took  place  in  Egypt,  and  was  set 
up  against  the  true  religion  contained  in  the  writings  of 
Moses. 

After  bishop  Cumberland  had  once  engaged  his  thoughts 
upon  this  subject,  fresh  matter  was  continually  rising,  for 
the  distribution  of  which  into  a  proper  method,  so  as  to 
render  a  very  perplexed  subject  intelligible,  he  found  him- 
self under  the  necessity  of  undertaking  a  yet  more  extensive 
work  than  the  former,  in  which  he  made  some  progress  in 
the  space  of  above  twenty  years,  during  which  it  employed 
his  thoughts.     To  this  piece,  when  finished,  he  proposed 
to  have   given   the    title    of    "  Origines   Antiquissimse," 
which  were  transcribed   in   his  life-time,  and,  by  his  di- 
rection, by  Mr.  Payne.     This   treatise,  which  is  properly 
a  supplement  to   the  first,  was  published  in    1724,    8vo, 
under    the    title  of  "  Origines  Gentium    Antiquissimge," 
or  Attempts  for  discovering  the  times  of  the  first  planting 
of  nations,    in    several    tracts. — In    bishop    Cumberland's 
old  age,    he   retained  the  easiness  and  sweetness  of  his 
temper,  which  continued  to  the  last  day  of  his  life.     His 
senses  and  bodily  strength  were  more  perfect  than  could 
w;_ell  be  expected,  in  a  man  whose  course  of  life  had  been 
studious  and  sedentary.     He  remained  a  master  of  all  the 
parts  of  learning  he  had  studied  when  he  was  young.     He 
ever  loved  the  classics,  and  to  the  last  week  of  his  life 
would    quote   them  readily^  and    appositely.      When   Dr. 
Wilkins  had  published  his  Coptic  Testament,  he  made  a 
present  of  one  of  them  to  his  lordship,  who  sat  down  to 
study  this  when  he  was  past  eighty-three.     At  this  age  he 
mastered   the  language,  and  went  through   great  part  of 
this  version,  and  would  often  give  excellent  hints  and  re- 
marks as  he  proceeded  in  reading  it.     At  length,  in   the 
autumn  of  17  18,  he  was  struck  in  an  afternoon  with  a  dead 
palsy,  and  breathed  his   last  in  his  palace  at  Peterborough 
on   October  9,  in    the  same  year,  in   the  eighty-seventh 
year  of  his  age.      His  corpse  was  interred   in  his  own  ca- 
thedral,   where  a  plain    tomb    has  been   erected,    with  a 
modest  inscription  to  his  memory.     His  reputation  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  very  great  at  home,  and  much  greater 
abroad.      He  is  mentioned  in  the  highest  terms  of  resj)ect 
by  many  foreign  writers,  particularly  Niccron,   MorholT, 


CUMBERLAND.  139 

Thomasius,  Stollius,  and  Fourmont.  His  fame  now  rests 
chiefly  on  the  works  he  published  in  his  life-time.  The 
Sanclioniatho  and  the  Origines,  although  they  afford  ample 
demonstration  of  learned  research,  have  not  so  well  pre- 
served their  credit. 

His  great  grandson,  the  subject  of  the  next  article,  in- 
forms us  upon  the  authority  of  his  father,  Dr.  Denison 
Cumberland,  that  at  the  end  of  every  year,  whatever  over- 
plus bishop  Cumberland  found  upon  a  minute  inspection 
of  his  accounts,  was  by  him  distributed  to  the  poor,  re- 
serving only  one  small  deposit  of  25/.  in  cash,  found  at  his 
death  in  his  bureau,  with  directions  to  employ  it  for  the 
discharge  of  his  funeral  expences;  a  sum,  in  his  modest 
calculation,  fully  sufficient  to  commit  his  body  to  the 
earth. — The  late  Mr.  Cumberland  deposited  in  the  library 
of  Trinity-college,  Cambridge,  a  copy  of  the  bishop's  work 
*'  De  Legibus  Naturae,"  interleaved  and  corrected  through- 
out by  Dr.  Bentley.  * 

CUMBERLAND  (Richard),  a  late  dramatic  and  mis- 
cellaneous writer,  was  the  great  grandson  of  the  preceding. 
His  father,  Denison,  so  named  from  his  mother,  was  edu- 
cated at  Westminster  school,  and  from  that  admitted  fel- 
low-commoner of  Trinity  college,  Cambridge.  He  mar- 
ried, at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Joanna,  the  younger 
daughter  of  Dr.  Richard  Bentley  (the  Phoebe  of  Byron's 
Pastoral) ;  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter,  Joanna,  and  Ri- 
chard, the  subject  of  this  article.  Though  in  possession 
of  an  independent  fortune,  he  was  readily  prevailed  upon 
by  his  father-in-law  to  take  the  rectory  of  Stanwick,  in 
Northamptonshire,  given  to  him  by  lord  chancellor  King, 
as  soon  as  he  was  of  age  to  hold  it.  From  this  period  he 
fixed  his  constant  residence  in  that  retired  spot,  and  se- 
dulously devoted  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  function, 
never  holding  any  Other  preferment  for  thirty  years,  ex- 
cept a  small  prebend  in  the  church  of  Lincoln,  given  hin» 
by  his  uncle  bishop  Reynolds,  He  was  in  the  commission 
of  the  peace,  and  a  very  active  magistrate  in  the  reconcile- 
ment of  parties  rather  than  in  the  conviction  of  persons. — 
When  the  rebels  were  on  the  march,  and  had  advanced  to 
Derby,  he  raised  among  the  neighbouring  parishes  two  com- 
panies of  100  men  each  for  the  regiment  then  enrolling 
under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Halifax,  and  marched 

*  Biog.   Brit,  principally   from  archiieacon   Payne's   Account,    prefixed   to 
Ui$  SaachoiiiatbOa 


140  CUMBERLAND. 

them  in  person  to  Northampton.  The  earl,  as  a  mark  of 
his  consideration,  insisted  upon  bestowing  one  of  the  com- 
panies upon  his  son,  who  being  too  young  to  take  the  com- 
iriaud,  an  officer  was  named  to  act  in  his  place.  Some 
time  after,  on  the  approach  of  the  general  election  for  the 
county  of  Northampton,  a  contest  took  place  with  the 
rival  parties  of  Knightly  and  Hanbury,  or,  in  other  words, 
between  the  tories  and  the  whigs.  His  politics  accorded 
with  the  latter,  and  he  gave  a  very  active  and  effectual 
support  to  his  party.  His  exertions,  though  unsuccessful, 
were  not  overlooked  by  the  earl  of  Halifax,  who  was  then 
high  in  office,  and  lord  lieutenant  of  the  county.  Offers 
were  pressed  upon  him  ;  yet,  though  he  was  resolute  in 
declining  all  personal  favours,  he  was  persuaded  to  lend 
an  ear  to  flattering  situations  pointed  out  for  his  son,  who 
was  short!}'  afterwards  employed  by  lord  Halifax  as  his 
confidential  secretary.  In  1757  he  exchanged  the  living 
of  Stanwick  for  Fulham,  in  order  to  be  nearer  his  son, 
whose  attendance  on  the  earl  of  Halifax  required  his  resi- 
dence in  town.  On  the  earl  being  appointed  lord- lieu- 
tenant of  Ireland,  he  was  made  one  of  his  chaplains  ;  and 
in  1763,  at  the  close  of  his  lordship's  administration,  was 
promoted  to  the  bishopric  of  Clonfert.  In  this  situation  he 
much  ingratiated  himself  with  all  classes  of  people  by  his 
benevolence  and  geneiosit3\  He  introduced  many  im- 
provements and  comforts  among  the  Irish  peasantry.  He 
encouraged  the  English  motle  of  agriculture  by  judicious 
rewards ;  and,  as  one  of  the  members  of  the  linen  trade, 
introduced  a  number  of  spinning-wheels,  and  much  good 
linen  was  made  in  consequence.  This  improving  manu- 
facture formed  an  interesting  occupation  also  to  iiis  lad}^ 
and  flourished  under  her  care.  The- city  of  Dublin  pre- 
sented him  with  his  freedom  in  a  gold  box,  an  honour 
never  before  (except  in  the  remarkable  instance  of  dean 
iSwift)  conferred  on  any  person  below  the  rank  of  a 
chief  governor;  and  the  deed  which  accompanied  it  as- 
signed as  the  motive,  the  great  respectability  of  his  cha- 
racter, and  his  disinterested  protection  of  the  Irish  clergy. 
In  1772  he  was  translated  to  the  see  of  Kilmore.  Some 
alarming  symptoms  soon  after  indicated  the  breaking  up 
of  his  constitution,  which  was  increased  by  the  anxiety  he 
experienced,  through  the  debility  and  loss  of  health  of  his 
amiable  la^v._^\'lien  his  son  took  leave  of  him  at  the  end 
of  his  suaiffl^r\'is^t,'^iYe  bishop  expressed  an  intention  of 


C  U  M  E  E  ULAN  D.  141 

attempting  a  journey  to  England;  but  died  in  the  winter  of 
the  same  year  ;  and  this  sad  event  was  speedily  succeeded 
by  the  death  of  his  lady,  whose  weak  and  exhausted  frame 
sunk  under  the  blow,  May  27,  1775. 

Richard,  the  subject  of  this  article,  was  born  Feb.  19, 
1732,  under  the  roof  of  his  grandfather  Bentley,  in  the 
master's  lodge  in  Trinity  college.    When  turned  of  six  years 
of  age,  he  was  sent  to  the  school  at  Bury  St.  Edmund's, 
then   under  the  mastership  of  the  reverend  Arthur  Kins- 
man.    For  some   time   he  made  but  little  progress  in  his 
learning;   till  Kinsman,  having  observed  his  low  station  in 
the   school,   publicly  reproved   him  ;    and  thus  roused  in 
him  a  spirit  of  emulation.     While  he  continued   in  this 
school,  his  grandfather  Bentley  died  ;  and  the  affectionate 
manner  in  which  Kinsman  imparted  the  melancholy  event 
to  him,   with  the  kind  regard  he  evinced  for  his  improve- 
ment, wrought  so  much   upon  his  mind,   that  his  task  be- 
came his  delight.     In  his  exercises,  however,  he  describes 
himself,  in  his   "  Memoirs,"  as  aiming  at  something  like 
fancy  and    invention,    and  as    being    too    frequently  be- 
trayed into   grammatical  errors,  which  did  him  no  credit 
witli    his    master,    who    commented    on    his   blunders    in 
one  instance  with  great  severity,  producing  so    great  an 
effect  on  his  sensibility,  that  he  never  perfectly  recovered 
it.     It  was  about  this  time  that  he  made   his  first  attempt 
in  English  verse  ;  the  subject  of  which   was  an  excursion 
he  had  made  with  his  family  in  the  summer  holida3's  to  visit 
a  relation  in  Hampshire,   which  engaged  him  in  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  docks  at  Portsmouth,  and  of  the  races  at  Win- 
chester, where  he  had  been  present.     This  little  poem  he 
exhibited  to  his  father,  who  received  it  with  unreserved 
commendation,  and  persisted  in  reciting  it  to  his  intimates, 
when  its  author  had  gained  experience  enough  to  wish  it 
had   been  consigned   to  oblivion.     In    the   intervals  from 
school  his  mother  began  to  form  both  his  taste  and  his  ear 
for  poetry,  of  which  art  she  was  a  very  able  mistress,  by 
employing  him  every  evening  to  read  to  her.     Their  read- 
ings were,  with  few  exceptions,  confmed  to  Shakspeare, 
whom  she  both  admired  and  understood  in  the  true  spirit 
and  sense  of  the  author.      Under  her  instruction  he  became 
passionately  fond  of  these  evening  entertainments,  and  the 
effect  was  several  attempts  on  his  part  towards  the  drama. 
He  was  then  head -boy  of  Bury  school,  though  only  in  his 
12th  year.     He  fitted  and   compiled  a  kind  of  cento,  en- 


142  C  U  M  B  E  il  L  A  N  D. 

titled  "  Shakspeare  in   the  Shades,"  in  one  act,  in  xvhich 
the  characters  of  Hamlet  and  Ophelia,  Romeo  and  Juliet, 
Lear  and  Cordelia,  were  introduced,  and  Ariel  as  an  at- 
tendant spirit  on  Shakspeare,  who  is  present  through  the 
piece:   some   extracts    from    this  juvenile   production  are 
printed  in  his   "  Memoirs."     Mr,  Kinsman   intimating  his 
purpose  of  retiring  from  Bury  school,  young  Cumberland 
was  transplanted  to  Westminster,  and  admitted  under  Dr. 
Nichols,  where  he  remained  about  a  year  and  a  half;  and 
particularly  profited  there  in  point  of  composition.     When 
only  in  his  fourteenth  year,  he  was  admitted  of  Trinity 
college,  Cambridge,  where  he  had  two  tutors,  who  took 
little  care  of  him;  but  the  inconvenience  of  this  being  soon 
felt,  the  master  of  the  college,  Dr.  Smith,  in  the  last  year  of 
his  being  under-graduate,  recommended  him  to  lose  no  timef 
in  preparing  for  his  degree,  and  to  apply  closely  to  his 
academical  studies  for  the  remainder  of  the  year.     During 
the  year  of  trial,  he  determined  to  use  every  effort  for  re- 
deeming lost  time  ;  he  began  a  course  of  study  so  appor- 
tioned as  to  allow  himself  but  six  hours'  sleep,  to  which  he 
strictly   adhered,  living  almost   entirely   upon    milk,   and 
using  the  cold  bath  very  frequently.  In  the  several  branches 
of  mechanics,  hydrostatics,  optics,  and  astronomy,  he  made 
himself  master  of  the  best  treatises  ;  he  worked  all  his  pro- 
positions, and  formed  all  his  minutes,  even  his  thoughts, 
in    Latin,  and    thereby  acquired    advantages    superior   to 
some  of  the  best  of  his  contemporaries  in  public  disputa- 
tions ;  for,   so  long  as   his  knowledge   of  a  question  could 
supply  matter  for  argument,  he   never  felt  any   want  of 
terms  for  explanation.     In  consequence  of  this  diligence, 
he  was  enabled  to  go  through  his  scholastic  exercises  four 
times  in  the  course  of  the  year,  keeping  two  acts  and  two 
first  opponencies,  and  acquitted  himself  with  great  credit. 
On   being  cited  to  the  senate  house  for  examination  for 
the  bachelor's  degree,  he  was  kept  perpetually  at  the  table 
under  the  process  of  question   and  answer.     His  constitu- 
tion, considerably  impaired  by  the  intense  application  he 
had  given,  just  held  him  up  to  the  expiration  of  the  scru-» 
tiny  ;  and  on  hastening  to  his  father's,  he  soon  fell  ill  of  a 
rheumatic  fever,  'from  which,  after  six  months'  care  and 
attention,  he  was  recovered.     While  in  this  state  of  ex- 
treme indisposition,  a   high  station   was  adjudged  to  hini 
amongst  the  wranglers  of  his  year. 

Having  thus,  in  1750,  at  an  age  more  than  commonly 


CUMBERLAND.  143 

early,  obtained  his  bachelor's  degree,  with  tlie  return  of 
his  health  he  resumed  his  studies,  and,  without  neglect- 
ing those  he  had  lately  been  engaged  in,  again  took  up 
those  authors  who  had  lain  by  untouched  for  a  whole  twelve- 
month. Being  in  the  habit  of  reading  upon  system,  he 
began  to  form  coilectanea  of  his  studies.  With  this  view  he 
got  together  all  the  tracts  relative  to  the  controversy 
between  Boyle  and  Bentley,  omitting  none  even  of  the 
authorities  and  passages  they  referred  to  ;  and  having  done 
this,  compressed  the  reasonings  on  both  sides  into  a  kind  of 
statement  and  report  upon  the  question  in  dispute  ;  and, 
havinor  accomplished  this,  he  meditated  upon  a  plan  little 
short  of  what  might  be  projected  for  an  universal  history, 
or  at  least  for  that  of  the  great  empires  in  particular.  But 
he  was  perhaps  more  agreeably  employed  in  reading  the 
Greek  tragedians;  and  when  Mason  published  his  Elfrida, 
was  warm  in  his  praise  of  that  generally-admired  produc- 
tion ;  and,  in  imitation,  planned  and  composed  an  entire 
drama,  of  which  Caractacus  was  the  hero,  with  bards  and 
druids  attached  to  it  as  a  chorus,  for  whom  he  wrote  odes. 

About  this  time  his  father  was  persuaded  to  listen  to 
some  flattering  offers  of  situations  for  him  ;  but,  as  his 
health  was  still  in  an  unsettled  state,  he  joined  with  his 
family  in  an  excursion  to  York,  where  he  passed  half  a 
year  in  the  society  and  amusements  of  that  city.  The 
style  of  living  there  was  a  perfect  contrast  with  what  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  :  he  hunted  in  the  mornings,  danced 
in  the  evenings,  and  devoted  but  little  time  to  study.  He 
here  got  hold  of  Spenser's  Fairy  Queen,  in  imitation  of 
which  he  began  to  write  stanzas  to  the  same  measure ;  at 
other  times  he  also  composed  short  elegies  in  the  manner 
of  Hammond ;  but  for  these  pursuits  he  was  seasonably 
reproved  by  his  mother,  and  relinquished  them ;  and  on 
his  return  to  college,  he  vvas  soon  invited  to  the  master's 
lodge  by  Dr.  Smith,  who  honoured  him  with  approbation 
of  his  past  exertions,  and  imparted  to  him  a  new  arrange- 
ment that  had  been  determined  upon,  for  annulling  so 
much  of  the  existing  statutes  as  restricted  all  bachelors  of 
arts,  except  those  of  the  third  year's  standing,  from  ofl'er-r 
ing  themselves  candidates  for  fellowships.  Dr.  Smith  also 
kindly  recommended  him,  as  he  should  be  in  the  second 
year  of  his  degree  at  the  next  election,  to  present  himself 
for  examination. 

Whilst  he  vvas  preparing  to  resume  his  studies  with  in- 


144  CUMBERLAND. 

creased  attention,  he  received  a  summons  from  lord  Hali- 
fax  to  assume  the  situation  of  his  private  confidential  se- 
cretary. He  accordingly  came  to  town  ;  but,  among  the 
new  connexions  in  which  he  was  cousequently  thrown,  he 
met  with  nothing  that  in  any  degree  interested  him,  and  at 
the  recess  he  accompanied  lord  Halifax  to  Horton,  and 
from  thence  went  to  Cambridge.  There  were  six  va- 
cancies, and  six  candidates  of  the  year  above  him.  They 
undervv^ent  a  severe  examination  from  the  electing  seniors  ; 
and  Cumberland  particularly  from  Dr.  Smith,  the  master; 
and  on  the  next  day  Cumberland  and  Mr.  Orde  (afterwards 
master  in  chancery),  who  was  of  the  same  year,  were  an- 
nounced as  elected,  to  the  exclusion  of  two  of  the  year 
above  diem.  After  his  election,  he  went  home  to  Stan- 
wick,  and  from  thence  made  a  short  visit  to  lord  Halifax. 

On  his  return  to  town  he  was  as  much  sequestered  from 
the  world  as  if  he  had  been  resident  in  his  college.  About 
this  time  he  made  his  first  small  offering  to  the  press,  fol- 
lowing the  steps  of  Gray  with  another  churchyard  *'  Elegy, 
written  on  St.  Mark's  Eve,"  when,  according  to  rural  tra- 
dition, the  ghosts  of  those  who  are  to  die  within  the  year 
ensuing  are  seen  to  walk  at  midniarht  across  the  church- 
yard.  It  had  been  written  in  one  of  his  college  vacations, 
some  time  before  he  belonged  to  lord  Halifax  :  "  The  pub- 
lic," he  observes  in  his  Memoirs,  "  were  very  little  in- 
terested with  it,  and  Dodsley  as  little  profited." 

While  he  was  with  lord  Halifax,  Mr.  Charles  Towns- 
hend  was  passing  a  few  days  at  Horton ;  and  among  a 
variety  of  subjects  which  his  active  imagination  was  for 
ever  starling,  something  occurred  to  his  recollection  of  an 
enigmatical  sort,  that  he  wished  to  have  the  solution  of, 
and  could  not  strike  upon  it  :  it  was  only  to  be  done  by  a 
geometrical  process,  which  Cumberland  hit  upon  :  he 
worked  it  as  a  problem,  and  gave  a  solution  in  writing, 
with  which  Mr.  Townshend  was  much  pleased.  Mr.  Towns- 
hend  afterwards  put  into  Cumberland's  hands  a  long  and 
elaborate  report  of  his  own  drawing  up  (for  he  was  then 
one  of  the  lords  of  trade) ;  and  requested  him  to  revise  it, 
and  give  his  remarks  without  reserve  ;  and  the  manner  in 
which  this  service  was  performed  strengthened  Mr.  Towns* 
liend's  good  opinion  of  Cumberland. 

About  this  time  he  employed  himself  in  collecting  ma- 
terials from  the  History  of  India,  for  the  plan  of  a  poem  iu 
lieroic  verse,  on  which  he  bestowed  considerable  labour, 


CUMBERLAND.  145 

and  in  which  he  had  made  some  progress.  This  desio^n, 
however,  was  laid  aside;  hut  a  specimen  of  it,  respecting 
the  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese,  is  preserved  in  liis 
"  Memoirs." 

After  the  death  of  lady  Halifax,  on  coming  to  town  for 
the  winter  season  with  his  patron,  he  read  and  wrote  in- 
cessantly, and  lived  in  all  the  temperance,  and  nearly  all 
the  retirement,  of  a  hermit.  The  residence  in  town,  how- 
ever, which  his  attendance  upon  lord  Halifax  entailed 
iipon  him,  and  the  painful  separation  from  his  family, 
became  almost  insupportable  to  him.  But,  whilst  he  was 
meditating  a  retreat,  his  father  exchanged  his  living  of 
Stanvvick  for  Fulham,  in  order  to  afford  him  an  easier  ac- 
cess to  his  friends.  In  consequence  of  his  occasional  visits 
there,  he  became  a  frequent  guest  at  La  Trappe,  the 
house  of  the  eccentric  Mr.  Dodington,  and  passed  much 
lime  with  him  there,  in  London  also,  and  occasionally  ia 
Dorsetshire,  His  attendance  on  lord  Halifax  did  not  pre- 
vent his  continuing  this  intimacy  :  indeed  it  was  corre- 
spondent with  lord  Halifax's  wishes  that  he  should  cultivate 
Mr.  Dodington's  acquaintance;  for  his  lordship  not  only 
lived  with  him  upon  intimate  terms  as  a  friend,  but  was 
now  in  train  to  form  some  opposition  connexions,  havino- 
at  this  time  thrown  up  his  office  of  first  lord  of  trade  and 
plantations,  and  detached  himself  from  the  duke  of  New- 
castle's administration.  In  the  summer  of  this  year  he 
went  to  Eastbury,  the  seat  of  Mr.  Dodington,  where  he 
remained  some  time,  and  had  ample  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving the  character  of  his  host,  of  which  he  has  given  an 
interesting  description  in  his  "Memoirs,"  as  well  as  that 
of  many  distinguished  visitors  there.  Lord  Halifax  and 
some  friends  were  resident  there  during  the  whole  of  his 
visit;  and  during  the  same  period,  Cumberland  addresseU 
a  poem  of  400  lines  to  Dodington,  partly  in  compliment 
to  him,  and  in  part  consolatory  to  lord  Halifax  upon  the 
event  of  his  retiring  from  public  office  :  they  flattered  the 
politics  then  in  favour  with  Mr.  Dodington,  and  coincided 
with  his  wishes  for  detachinor  lord  Halifax  from  the  admi- 
nistration  of  the  duke  of  Newcastle. 

On  his  return  from  Dorsetshire  he  was  invited  by  his 
friends  at  Trinity  college  to  offer  himself  as  a  candidate  for 
a  lay-fellowship  then  vacant,  in  which  he  succeeded,  but 
did  not  hold  it  long,  as  it  could  oidy  be  held  on  the  terms 
©f  celibacy.     About  this  time  he  vvTote  bis  first  legitimate 

Vol.  XI.  L 


146  C  U  M  B  E  R  L  A  N  D. 

drama,  in  five  acts,  *'  The  Banishment  of  Cicero  ;"  u  per- 
formance which,  though  occasionally  inaccurate  in  the  dic- 
tion, and  the  plot  totally  unsuited  to  scenic  exhibition,  as 
a  dramatic  poem  will  bear  examination.  It  was,  however, 
rejected  by  Garrick,  as  unfit  for  the  stage,  but  published 
by  the  author  in  1761,   4to. 

Having  obtained,  through  the  patronage  of  lord  Halifax, 
a  small  establishment  as  crown  agent  for  Nova  Scotia,  Mr. 
Cumberland  tendered  his  addresses  to  Elizabeth,  the  only 
daughter  of  George  Ridge,  esq.  of  Kilmiston,  Hants,  to 
whom  he  was  married,  Feb.  19,  1759.  On  the  king's  ac- 
cession to  the  throne,  Mr.  Cumberland  composed  and  pub- 
lished without  his  name,  a  poem  in  blank  verse  addressed 
to  the  young  sovereign  ;  and  on  the  appointment  of  lord 
Halifax  to  be  lord  lieutenant  of  Ireland,  he  accompanied 
that  nobleman  as  Ulster  secretary,  and  his  father  was 
made  one  of  the  chaplains.  William  Gerard  Hamilton  was 
at  this  time  chief  secretary,  but  not  by  the  choice  of  lord 
Halifax,  to  whom  he  was  little  known,  and  in  the  first 
instance  not  altogether  acceptable,  and  Cumberland's  si- 
tuation appears  to  have  been  unpleasant.  However,  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  session  his  lordship  expressed  his 
satisfaction  in  Cumberland's  services,  and  oflfered  him  a 
baronetcy,  an  honour  which  after  due  consideration  he 
declined,  though  he  says  he  had  afterwards  reason  to  think 
that  it  contributed  to  weaken  his  interest  with  lord  Halifax, 
Why  such  an  honour  should  have  been  ofi'ered  to  a  young 
man  totally  unprovided  for,  we  know  not.  Even  wlien  his 
patron  was  made  secretary  of  state,  he  applied,  in  vain,  for 
the  situation  of  under-secretary,  and  afterwards  obtained 
only  the  clerkship  of  reports  in  the  oflSce  of  trade  and 
plantations  under  the  earl  of  Hillsborough. 

Bickerstaff  having  brought  forward  with  success  his 
operas  of  "  Love  in  a  Village,"  and  "  The  Maid  of  the 
Mill,"  Mr.  Cumberland  attempted  a  drama  of  that  sort, 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Summer's  Tale,"  which  was  per- 
formed for  nine  or  ten  nights,  but  with  no  great  applause ; 
the  music  to  it  was  the  production  of  Bach,  Arne,  Arnold, 
and  Simpson.  This  drama  was  published  in  1765,  and  the 
author  afterwards  cut  it  down  to  an  afterpiece  of  two  acts, 
and  exhibited  it  luider  the  title  of  "  Amelia"  with  very 
tolerable  success;  and  published  it  in  1768.  His  next 
production  was  the  comedy  of  "The  Brothers,"  v.hich  was 


,    C  U  M  B  E  R  L  A  N  D.  147 

hrought  out  at  Covent  Garden,  and  well  received,  and 
published  in  1769. 

During  a  visit  at  his  father's  at  Clonfert,  in  a  little  closet 
at  the  back  of  the  palace,  with  no  other  prospect  than  a 
shigle  turf-stack,  he  began  to  plan  and  compose  "  The 
West  Indian."  It  was  his  oi)ject  always  in  his  hours  of 
study,  so  to  place  himself,  as  to  have  little  or  nothing  to 
ilistract  his  attention.  During  his  stay  in  Ireland,  he  re- 
ceived from  the  university  of  Dublin  the  honorary  degree 
of  LL.D.  On  iiis  return  to  London  he  entered  into  an  en- 
gagement with  Garrick  to  bring  out  the  "  West  Indian"  at 
his  theatre;  and  availed  himself  of  Garrick's  suggestions 
in  adding  a  nev/  scene  and  other  improvements.  This 
piece  (which  appeared  in  1771)  proved  successful  beyond 
the  utmost  expectation  of  its  author,  who  was  aware  tliat 
the  moral  was  not  quite  unexceptionable. 

Mr.  Cumberland  now  for  the  first  time  entered  the  lists  of 
controversy,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  A  Letter  to  the  ri^^ht 

rev.   the   lord  bishop  of  O d  (Lowth)  containing  some 

animadversions  upon  a  character  given  of  the  late  Dr. 
Bentley,  in  a  Letter  from  a  late  professor  in  the  university 
of  Oxford  to  the  riuht  rev.  author  of  the  Divine  Lesfation.*'  / 
ccc.  It  passed  through  two  editions.  Dr.  Lowth  did  not 
reply  to  this  pamphlet :  nor  did  he  accept  the  services  of 
a  clergyman  of  his  diocese,  who  offered  to  undertake  it ; 
acknowledging  that  Cumberland  had  just  reason  for  re- 
taliation. 

During  his  residence  in  Queen  Anne-street  East,  an 
event  occurred  wliich  evinced  in  a  striking  manner  his  dis- 
interested generosity  and  high  sense  of  honour.  He  was 
visited  by  an  old  clergyman,  the  rev.  Decimus  Reynolds, 
son  of  bishop  Reynolds,  and  first  cousin  to  his  father.  This 
gentleman,  without  any  previous  ititimacy,  had  bequeathed 
to  Ciunberland  his  estate  twenty  years  before  :  he  brono-ht 
the  will  in  his  hand  ;  but  required  that  Cumberland 
should  accompany  him  to  a  conveyancer,  and  direct  that  a 
positive  deetl  of  gift  should  be  drawn  up  ;  for  which  pur- 
pose he  had  brought  the  title-deeds,  and  should  leave 
them  with  Cumberland.  Cumberland  conjured  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds to  inform  him  if  he  had  any  cause  of  displeasure  with 
his  nearer  relations;  stating  that  his  natural  heir  was  a  man 
of  most  unexceptionable  worth  and  good  character.  Mr. 
Reynolds  stated  that  he  left  it  to  Cumberland,  as  beino-  the 

L  2 


148  CUMBERLAND. 

representative  of  the  maternal  branch  of  his  family  ;  that 
Cumberland's  father  had  ever  been  his  valued  friend;  and 
that  he  had  constantly  watched  Cumberland's  character, 
though  l)e  had  not  established  any  personal  acquaintance 
with  him.  Upon  this  explanation,  and  the  evidence  of 
Mr.  Reynolds's  having  inherited  no  atom  of  his  fortune  from 
his  paternal  line,  Cumberland  consented  to  the  drawing 
lip  of  the  deed,  causing,  however,  highly  to  his  honour,  a 
clause  of  resumption  to  be  inserted,  impowering  the  donor 
to  revoke  his  deed  at  any  future  time.  This  clause  Mr. 
Reynolds  was  with  great  difficulty  prevailed  on  to  admit; 
prophetically  observing,  that  it  left  him  exposed  to  the 
solicitations  of  his  relations,  and  in  the  debility  of  age,  he 
might  be  pressed  into  a  revocation  of  what  he  had  decided 
upon  as  the  most  deliberate  act  of  his  life.  After  ten 
years  of  uninterrupted  cordiality  between  them,  this  re- 
sumption actually  took  place  ;  major  Reynolds,  the  nephew 
of  tiie  old  gentleman,  bringing  his  order  for  tlie  whole  of 
the  title-deeds  ;  which  were  immediately  delivered  up  by 
Cumberland  exactly  as  he  had  received  them. 

About  this  time  he  became  a  member  of  a  pleasant  li* 
terary  society,  who  used  to  dine  together  upon  stated  days 
at  the  British  cotFee-house ;  and  at  one  of  these  meetings 
it  vs'as  suggested  to  him  to  delineate  the  character  of  a 
North  Briton,  as  he  had  already  those  of  an  Irishman  and 
a  West  Indian.  He  adopted  the  suggestion,  and  began  to 
frame  the  character  of  Colin  Macleod,  in  his  comedy  of 
*'  The  Fashionable  Lover,"  upon  the  model  of  a  Highland 
servant  who,  with  scrupulous  integrity  and  a  great  deal  of 
nationality  about  him,  managed  all  the  domestic  affairs  of 
sir  Thomas  Mills's  household,  and  being  a  great  favourite 
of  every  body  who  resorted  there,  became  in  time,  as  it 
were,  one  of  the  company.  This  comedy,  in  point  of 
composition,  he  thought  superior  to  the  West  Indian  ;  but  it 
did  not  obtain  equal  success  with  that  drama.  When  this 
play  came  out,  he  made  serious  appeals  against  cavillers 
and  slanderers  below  his  notice,  which  induced  Garrick  to 
call  him  *'  the  man  without  a  skin,"  and  this  soreness  to 
criticism  became  afterwards  one  of  the  most  distinguishing 
features  of  his  character.  His  fourth  comedy  of  *'  The 
C4ioleric  Man,"  was  performed  with  approbation  ;  but  its 
author  was  charged  in  the  pui^lic  prints  with  venting 
contemptuous  and  illiberal  speeches  against  his  contem- 
poraries. This  induced  him  to  prefix  to  his  con^cdy,  when  he 


CUMBERLAND.  H9 

pu))lished  it,  a  "  Dedication  to  Detraciion,"  the  chief  oLject 
of  wliich  was  directed  to  a  tract  entitled  ''  An  Essay  on 
the  Theatre,"  in  which  the  writer  professes  to  draw  a  com- 
parison between  huighing  and  sentimental  comedy,  and 
under  the  hitter  description  particularly  points  his  obser- 
vations to  "  The  Fashionable  Lover." 

His  next  dramatic  production  was  *'  Timon  of  Athens," 
altered  from  Shakspeare,  in  which  the  entire  part  of 
Evanthe,  and,  with  very  few  exceptions,  the  whole  of  Al- 
cibiades,  were  new.  The  public  approbation  sanctioned 
the  attempt  at  the  first  production  of  the  play;  but  it  has 
since  been  neglected.  In  compliance  with  the  wishes  of 
Moody,  who  had  become  the  established  performer  of 
Irish  characters,  Cumberland  sketched  another  Hibernian, 
on  a  smaller  scale,  in  the  entertainment  of  "  The  Note  of 
Hand,  or  a  Trip  to  Newmarket,"  which  was  the  last  of  his 
pieces  that  Garrick  produced  before  he  disposed  of  his 
property  in  Drury-lane.     His  tragedy  of  "  The  Battle  of 

Hastinns"  was  brought  out  there  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 

■     1  •  1 

Sheridan.      In  his  own  judgment   it  was   better  written 

than  planned.     It  was  published  in  1773. 

His  prospects  in  life  began  now  to  brighten  ;  for,  on  the 
accession  of  lord  George  Germaine  to  office,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  secretary  to  the  board  of  trade,  which  pro- 
duced an  increase  of  income  that  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  acceptable  to  the  father  of  six  children.  His  lordship 
took  particular  notice  of  Cumberland,  and  continued  his 
kind  patron  and  friend  till  death. 

Mr.  Cumberland  afterwards  resided  atTetworth  in  Bed- 
fordshire, in  the  vicinity  of  the  house  of  his  honoured 
friend  lady  Frances  Burgoyne,  sister  of  lord  Halifax.  Here 
he  passed  his  summer  recesses;  and  in  one  of  them  wrote 
his  opera  of  "  Calypso,"  which  was  brought  out  at  Covent 
Garden  ;  but  did  not  meet  with  very  great  success.  In  the 
foUowinor  season  Cumberland  wrote  "  The  Widow  of  Del- 
phi,  or  the  descent  of  the  Deities,"  which  has  never  been 
printed,  but  received  frequent  revisions  and  corrections 
in  the  MS.  and  its  author  considered  it  in  this  improved 
state  as  one  of  his  most  classical  productions.  About  this 
time  appeared  his  tragi-comedy  of  "  The  Bondman,"  and 
"  The  Duke  of  Milan,"  altered  ;  neither  of  which  has  been 
printed. 

In  1780,  Cumberland  was  appointed  on  a  confidential 
mission   to  the  courts  of  Lisbon  and  Madrid ;  a  situation 


150  CUMBERLAND. 

which,  however  honourable,  seems  to  have  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  all  his  future  distresses,  and  to  have  embittered 
every  remaining  hour  of  a  long-protracted  existence.  The 
direct  object  of  his  embassy  was  to  draw  the  court  of  Spain 
into  a  separate  treaty  of  peace  with  this  country  ;  and  but 
for  the  disturbances  which  took  place  at  that  period  in 
London,  it  is  probable  that  he  migbt  have  proved  success- 
ful in  his  endeavours,  since  his  conduct  gave  the  most  per- 
fect satisfaction  to  the  Spanish  court,  and  even  procured 
him  the  particular  confidence  and  attachment  of  their  king. 
From  these  events,  and  other  untoward  circumstances,  he 
was,  in  1781,  recalled,  after  having  contracted  a  debt  of 
near  5000/.  in  the  service  of  his  country,  not  one  shilling 
of  which  lord  North's  ministry  ever  thought  proper  to  re- 
pay him,  and  to  discharge  which  he  was  compelled  to  dis- 
pose of  the  whole  of  his  hereditary  property.  If  it  be  said 
that  all  this  rests  on  Mr.  Cumberland's  authority,  it  may 
purely  be  I'eplied  that  no  member  of  that  ministry  has  at- 
tempted to  deny  his  account.  It  has  indeed  been  asserted 
that  he  exceeded  his  commission,  but  in  what  respects  we 
are  not  told,  nor  whether  the  losses  he  sustained  were  not 
too  heavy  a  punishment  for  an  error  in  judgment.  He 
informs  us  that  upon  his  journey  home  through  France,  his 
bills  were  stopped,  and  his  credit  so  completely  bard<rupt, 
that  he  would  have  been  put  in  prison  at  Bayonne,  had 
not  a  friendly  fellow-traveller  advanced  him  500/.  which 
enabled  him  to  pay  his  way  through  France  and  reach  his 
home. 

Upon  Mr.  Burke's  bill  of  economy,  and  the  consequent 
dismission  of  the  bo9rd  of  trade,  Mr.  Cumberland  retired 
with  a  compensation  far  from  adequate  to  the  emolunients 
of  the  place  he  was  deprived  of,  and  fixed  his  abode  at 
Tunbridge  Wells,  having  made  considerable  reductions  in 
his  establishment.  His  first  publication  after  his  return 
from  Spain  was  his  "  Anecdotes  of  eminent  Painters  in 
Spain,"  1782,  2  vols.  12mo,  an  interesting  and  curious 
work  ;  rendered  more  complete  in  1787  by  the  publication 
of  "  A  Catalogue  of  the  king  of  Spain's  Paintings,"  which 
had  been  drawn  up  purposely  for  Cumberland's  use  while 
irt  Spain,  and  transmitted  to  him  after  his  return  to  England. 

Before  he  settled  himself  at  Tunbridge  Wells  he  had 
written  his  comedy  of  "The  Walloons,"  which  was  brought 
out  at  Covent  Garden  theatre,  and  followed  by  "  The 
JVIysterioi^s   Husband"   in    1783,  and    u   tragedy  entitled 


CUMBERLAND.  151 

"  The  Arab,"  but  which  was  acted  once  only  for  an  actor's 
benefit,  and  has  never  since  been  put  to  any  use. 

In  1783  appeared  his  "  Letter  to  the  bishop  of  Llandafif," 
respecting  his  proposal  for  equalizing  the  revenues  of  the 
hierarchy  and  dignitaries  of  the  Church  Established  ; 
and  in  1785  his  tragedy  of  "The  Carmelite"  was  brought 
out;  and  his  comedy  of  "  The  Natural  Son."  The  col- 
lection of  essays,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Observer,"  were 
also  first  printed  this  year  experimentally  at  Tunbridge 
Wells,  in  2  vols.  12ino.  He  afterwards  engaged  with 
Charles  Dilly  to  publish  a  new  edition,  and  thereupon 
stopped  the  impression  of  the  old.  The  new  edition  was 
considerably  augmented,  and  appeared  in  five  volumes  in 
1786,  When  this  was  out  of  print  he  made  a  fresh  ar- 
rangement of  the  essays,  and,  incorporating  his  entire 
translation  of  "  The  Clouds  of  Aristophanes,"  edited  the 
work  thus  modelled  in  6  vols.  They  have  since  been  in- 
corporated in  the  collection  of  "  The  British  Essayists." 
In  1785  also  appeared  the  "  Character"  of  his  kind  patron 
lord  Sackville,  which  he  has  farther  illustrated  in  his 
*'  Memoirs."  About  this  time  he  published,  anonymously, 
a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Curtius  rescued  from  the  Gulph," 
in  consequence,  as  he  says,  "  of  Dr.  Parr's  having  hit  an 
unoffending  gentleman  too  hard,  by  launching  a  huge 
fragment  of  Greek  at  his  defenceless  head.  He  made  as 
good  a  fight  as  he  could,  and  rummaged  his  indexes  for 
quotations,  which  he  crammed  into  his  artillery  as  thick  as 
grape-shot,  and  in  mere  sport  fired  them  off  against  a  rock 
invulnerable  as  the  armour  of  Achilles."  It  is  indeed  but 
a  very  superficial  performance. 

In  1789  appeared  his  comedy  of  "The  Impostor;"  and 
"Arundel,  a  Novel,"  2  vdls.  12mo,  the  latter  hastily  put 
together  in  a  few  weeks  at  Brighthelmstone,  and  sent  to 
the  press  in  parcels  as  he  wrote  it.  This  novel,  rapidly- 
composed  as  it  was,  met  with  success  ;  on  which  he  re- 
solved to  bestow  his  utmost  care  and  diligence  on  a  second, 
which  appeared  in  171)5,  in  4  vols.  12mo,  under  the  title 
of  "  Henry."  In  1792  he  published  his  "  Calvary,  or  the 
Death  of  Christ,  a  Poem,  in  eight  books,"  4to.  To  this 
work  he  had  applied  himself  with  uncommon  ardour;  he 
began  it  in  the  winter,  and,  rising  every  morning  some 
hours  before  day-light,  soon  dispatched  the  whole  poem 
of  eight  books  at  the  average  of  full  fifty  lines  a  day,  of 
which  he   kept   a  regular   account,    marking   each  day's 


152  CUMBERLAND. 

work  upon  the  MS.    This  poem  has  since  been  repubhshed 
in  a  more  portable  size  in  2  vols. 

Among  his  productions  of  tiie  more  serious  cast  may  be 
included  his  "  Version  of  Fifty  of  the  Psalms  of  David," 
upon  which  he  bestowed  great  attention  :  and  his  religions 
and  argumentative  tract  entitled  "  A  few  plain  Reasons 
why  we  should  believe  in  Christ,  and  adhere  to  his  Reli- 
gion ;"  a  copy  of  which  he  presented,  with  due  deference, 
to  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  bishop  of  London, 
the  latter  of  whom  honoured  him  with  a  very  gracious  ac- 
knowledgement by  letter.  He  wrote  also  as  many  ser- 
UTions  as  would  make  a  large  volume,  some  of  which  have 
been  delivered  from  the  pulpit ;  and  was  for  some  years  in 
the  habit  of  composing  an  appropriate  prayer  of  thanks- 
giving for  the  last  day  in  the  year,  and  of  supplication  for 
the  lirst  day  of  the  succeeding  year.  He  was  accustomed 
also  to  select  passages  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  turn 
them  into  verse ;  of  which  he  has  given  a  specimen  in  his 
*'  Memoirs." 

In  1793,  be  brought  out  a  comic  opera  in  three  acts, 
founded  on  the  story  of  Wat  Tyler;  which,  being  objected 
to  by  the  lord  chamberlain,  he  was  obliged  to  new-model, 
and  produce  under  the  title  of  "  The  Armourer."  He  also 
brought  out  a  comedy  under  the  title  of  "The  Country 
Attorney"  at  the  summer  theatre,  when  it  was  under  the 
direction  of  the  elder  Mr.  Colman.  At  the  same  theatre 
appeared  in  1794  his  *'  Box  Lobby  Challenge,"  a  co- 
jnedy,  and  his  drama  of  "  Don  Pedro."  On  the  opening 
of  the  new  theatre  at  Drury  Lane,  his  comedy  of  ''  The 
Jew"  was  represented;  which  he  had  composed  with  great 
rapidity.  This  was  the  second  instance  of  his  coming  for- 
ward to  raise  the  character  of  that  people  from  the  un- 
merited  contempt  and  ridicule  which  they  had  uniformly 
before  experienced.  In  the  preceding  season  came  out 
his  comedy  of  "  The  Wheel  of  Fortune,"  which  was 
closely  followed  by  "  First  Love,  a  Comedy." 

In  1796  appeared  at  Covent  Garden  his  ''  Days  of  Yore, 
a  Drama."  In  1797,  at  Drury  Lane,  "The  last  of  the 
Family,  a  Comedy."  Five  other  comedies  were  also  suc- 
cessively produced  by  him.  "  False  Impressions,"  at  Co- 
vent  Garden  ;  "  The  Word  for  Nature;"  "The  Depen- 
dant;" "  The  Eccentric  Lover;"  and  "The  Sailor's  Daugh- 
ter," at  Drury  Lane. 

He  made  annual  visits  to  Mrs.  Bludvvorih's  at  Holt  neav 


CUMBERLAND.  153 

Winchester ;  where,  being  absent  from  his  books,  he 
amused  himself  with  poetical  trifles  on  various  subjects, 
some  of  which  he  has  preserved  in  his  Memoirs  ;  as  well  as 
many  other  pieces  written  on  other  occasions.  In  1806  he 
brought  out  his  "  Hint  to  Husbands,  a  Comedy,"  at  Co- 
vent  Garden,  which  was  pertormed  for  five  nights  only. 
In  the  same  year  he  published  '•  Memoirs  of  his  own  Life," 
4to,  to  which  he  afterwards  added  a  Supplement,  of  which 
we  have  availed  ourselves  in  this  sketch. 

The  j)ublications  he  was  afterwards  concerned  in  are, 
*'  The  Exodiad,"  an  epic  poem,  written  in  conjunction 
with  sir  James  Bland  Burges.  "  John  de  Lancaster,"  a 
novel,  in  3  vols,  and  "  Joanna  of  Montfaucon,"  a  dramatic 
roiiiance.  He  was  also  the  conductor  of  "  The  London 
Review,"  a  new  attempt,  in  which  the  reviewers  gave 
their  names,  but  it  did  not  succeed.  From  the  time  of 
liis  secession  from  public  life,  Mr.  Cumberland  resided  at 
Tunbridge  Wells,  devoting  his  time  solely  to  his  literary 
occupations.  Here  he  lost  his  wife,  the  happy  partner  of 
all  his  joys,  his  affectionate  consoler  in  every  sorrow.  This 
stroke  of  affliction  he  bore  with  the  resignation  of  a  man 
of  sense,  convinced,  as  he  says,  that  patience  is  no  mark 
of  insensibility,  nor  the  parade  of  lamentation  any  evidence 
of  the  sincerity  or  permanency  of  grief 

During  the  ahirm  of  invasion  he  headed  two  companies 
of  volunteer  infantry,  and  received  the  commission  of 
major-commandant.  So  beloved  was  he  by  his  corps,  that 
they  honoured  him  with  a  sword  as  a  mark  of  their  esteem ; 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  agreed  to  serve  under 
him  without  receiving  their  customary  pay.  His  last  days 
were  spent  chiefly  in  London,  where  he  died  May  7,  IMl  1, 
after  a  few  days  illness,  at  the  house  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Henry 
Fry,  Bedford-place.  The  last  act  of  his  life  was  the  publica- 
tion of  a  poem  called  "  Retrospection,"  a  kind  of  legacy  of 
opinions  concerning  the  "  men  and  things"  more  fully 
handled  in  his  Memoirs.  In  appreciating  the  personal 
character  of  Mr.  Cumberland,  the  reader  may  be  very 
safely  directed  to  these  *'  Memoirs,"  where  the  disguise  of 
self-esteem  is  too  thin  to  hide  what  is  attempted  to  be 
hidden.  It  was  Mr.  Cumberland's  misfortune  to  be  bred  a 
courtier,  and  never  to  have  attained  his  degrees  in  that 
school.  In  a  subordinate  station,  the  duties  of  which  were 
technical  and  formal,  he  performed  them  like  others,  but 
was  peculiarly  unfortunate  in  venturing  to  act  the  minister. 


154  C  U  M  B  E  R  L  A  N  D. 

Mr.  Cumherland  having  associated  with  ahiiost  all  the 
ennnent  literary  characters  of  his  da}',  has  introduced  many 
strikidtr  sketches  and  anecdotes  of  theui  in  his  "  Memoirs." 
In  company  his  aim  was  to  please  by  retailing  these,  and 
in  the  art  of  pleasing  in  conversation  few  men  iiave  been 
more  successful,  and  few  would  have  been  r-:ore  praise- 
worthy, had  he  been  more  sincere  in  his  c.  ^pliraents  to 
those  who  were  present,  or  less  bitter  in  his  saxcasnis  on 
them  after  they  had  taken  their  leave.  By  this,  however, 
although  it  occasionally  administered  to  mirth,  he  lOst  more 
than  he  gained  ;  and  his  address,  polite,  stui  led,  and 
courtier-like,  soon  became  depreciated  beyond  all  recovery. 

As  a  writer,  the  number  of  his  works  is  perhaps  the  most 
striking  circumstance  ;  but  many  of  them,  it  may  be  re- 
membered, were  hastily  written,  and  produced  to  better 
his  income  at  a  time  when  a  succession  of  statesmen  iiad 
agreed  to  forget  that  such  a  man  ever  held  a  public  station. 
Whatever  else  he  wrote,  the  drama  was  his  favourite  pur- 
suit, from  which  he  could  seldom  endure  a  long  interrup- 
tion ;  and  this  seems  to  have  created  in  his  mind  a  ready 
play  of  imaginaiion  which  unfitted  him  for  the  serious  con- 
cerns of  real  life  and  business.  As  a  poet,  he  «annot  rank 
very  high  ;  elegant  versification  and  sentiment,  however, 
throw  a  ch.arm  over  some  of  his  poetical  works  which  has 
ensured  them  a  considerable  share  of  popularity.  His 
*'  Observer,"  now  that  he  has  acknowledged  how  much  he 
took  from  Bentley's  MSS.  no  longer  supports  his  character 
as  a  Greek  critic.  First  or  last,  the  drama  was  his  pecu- 
liar province  :  it  was  in  that  he  endeavoured  to  excel,  and 
in  that,  we  think,  he  has  attained  the  excellence  that  will 
be  most  permanent.  ^ 

CUMING,  or  COMYNS  (Sir  Alexander),  bart.  a  man 
of  considerable  talents,  unhappily,  in  some  respects,  mis- 
applied, was  the  son  of  Alexander  Cuming  of  Coulter, 
who  was  created  a  baronet  in  \6D5,  and  was  born  probably 
about  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  It  appears  by  his 
Journal,  which  was  in  the  possession  of  the  laie  Isaac 
Reed,  esq.  that  he  was  bred  to  the  law  of  Scotland,  but 
was  induced  to  (|uit  that  profession  in  consequence  of  a 
pension  of  300/.  per  annum  being  assigned  him  by  govern- 
ment, either,  as  he  intimates,  for  services 'done  by  his 
family,  or  expected  from  himself     This  pension  was  with- 

1  Memoirs,  &c. 


CUMING.  155 

drawn  in  1721,  at  the  instance,  according  to  his  account, 
of  sir  Robert  Walpole,  who  liad  conceived  a  pique  against 
his  father,   for   opposing   him   in  parliament.      It   is   moro 
probable,    liowever,    that  he    was   found   too    visionary   a 
schemer  to  fnlfil   what  was  expected  from  him.      In  1729 
he  was  induced,  by  a  dream  of  lady  Cuming's,   to  under- 
take a  voyage  to  America,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the 
Cherokee  nations.     He  left  England  on  Sept.  13,   and  ar- 
rived at  Charlestown  Dec.  5.     On  March  1  I  following,  he 
set  out  for  the  Indians  country;  and  on  April  3,  1730,   he 
was  crowned  commander,  and  chief  ruler  of  the  Cherokee 
nations  in  a  general  meeting  of  chiefs  at  Nequisee  among 
the  mountains  ;  he  returned  to  Charlestown  April  13,  with 
six  Indian  chiefs,  and  on  June  5,  arrived  at  Dover.     On 
the  18th  he  presented  the  chiefs  to  George  II.  at  Windsor, 
where  he  laid  his  crown  at  his  majesty's  feet :  the  chiefs 
also  did  homage,  laying  four  scalps  at  the  king's  feet,  to 
show  that  thev  were  an  overmatch  for  their  enemies,  and 
five  eagles'  tails  as  emblems  of  victory.     These  circum- 
stances are  confirmed  by    the  newspapers   of  that  time, 
which  are  full  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Cherokees  whilst 
in   England,  and   speak   of  them   as   brought  over  by  sir 
Alexander  Cuming.     Their  portraits  were  engraved  on  a 
single  sheet.     Sir  Alexander  says  in  his  Journal,  that  whilst 
he   was  in  America  in    1729,    he  found  such   injudicious 
notions  of  liberty    prevail,  as  were  inconsistent  with  any 
kind  of  government,  particularly  with  their  dependence  on 
the  British  nation.     This  suggested  to  him   the  idea  of 
establishing  banks  in  each  of  the  provinces  dependent  on 
the  British  exchequer,  and  accountable  to  the  British  par- 
liament, as  the  only  means  of  securing  the  dependency  of 
the  colonies.     But  it  was  not  till  1748   (as  it  appears)  that 
he  laid  his  plans  before  the  minister  (the  right  hon.  Henry 
Pelham)  who  treated  him  as  a  visionary  enthusiast,  which 
his  journal  indeed  most  clearly  indicates  him  to  have  been. 
He  connected  this  scheme  with  the  restoration  of  the  Jew^s, 
for  which  he  supposed  the  time  appointed  to  be  arrived, 
and  that  he  himself  was  alluded  to  in  various  passages  of' 
Scripture  as  their  deliverer.     He  was  not,  like  a  late  en- 
thusiast, to  conduct  them  to  the  Holy  Land,  but  proposed 
to  take  them  to  the  Cherokee  mountains :  wild  as  his  pro- 
jects were,  some  of  the  most  learned  Jews  (among  whom 
was  Isaac  Netto,  formerly  grand  rabbi  of  the   Portuguese 
synagogue)  seem  to  have  given  him  several  patient  hear- 


156  C  U  M  I  N  G. 

ings  upon  the  subject.  When  the  minister  refused  to  hs- 
ten  to  his  schemes,  he  proposed  to  open  a  subscription 
himself  for  500,000/.  to  estabJish  provincial  banks  in  Ame- 
rica, and  to  settle  300,000  Jewish  families  among  the  Che- 
rokee mountains.  From  one  wild  project  he  proceeded  to 
aiiotiier;  and  being  already  desperately  involved  in  debt, 
lie  turned  his  thoughts  to  alchemy,  and  began  to  try  expe- 
riments on  the  transmutation  of  metal.  He  was  supported 
principally  by  the  contributions  of  his  friends  :  till  at 
length,  \n  \1(>6,  archbishop  Seeker  appointed  him  one  of 
the  pensioners  in  the  Charter-house,  where  he  died  at  a 
very  advanced  age  in  August  1775,  and  was  buried  at  East 
Barnet,  where  lady  Cumu)g  had  been  buried  in  1743.  He 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  learning,  and  to  have  pos- 
sessed talents,  which,  if  they  had  not  been  under  a  wrong 
bias,  might  have  been  beneficial  to  himself  and  useful  to 
his  country.  His  son,  who  succeeded  him  in  his  title,  be- 
came dei"anged  in  his  intellects,  and  died  some  years  ago, 
in  a  state  of  indigence,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Red-lion- 
street,  Whitechapel.  He  had  been  a  captsiin  in  the  army  : 
the  title  became  extinct  at  his  death.  ^ 

CUMING  (William),  born  Sept.  30,  1714,  was  the 
son  of  Mr.  James  Cuming,  an  eminent  merchant  in  Edin- 
burgh. After  a  suitable  education  in  the  higli-school  of 
that  city,  and  under  the  particular  tuition  of  Mr.  Alexander 
Muir,  formerly  professor  of  philosophy  at  Aberdeen,  he 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  physic  four  years  in  the 
university  of  Edinburgh,  and  became  connected  with  some 
of  the  most  eminent  students  in  that  science.  In  173  5  he 
spent  nine  months  at  Paris,  improving  himself  in  anatomy 
and  the  French  language  :  and  he  passed  some  time  at 
Leyden  the  following  year;  but  returned  immediately 
before  the  death  of  his  father*.    In  1738  he  quitted  Edin- 

*  An  elegant  ode,  addressed  to  Iiim  wrecked  on  a  rock  about  two  miles  east 

on  his  going  to  France,  Aug.  31,  17jj,  of  the  island  of  North   Ronalsha,  the 

by  Mr.  S.  Boyse,  is  printed  in  Nichols's  northernmost   of  the  Oi  kix-y  islands. 

Miscellany   Poems,    vol.  VI.    p.  342 ;  Nov.  IS,    1740.     Immediately  on   the 

and  ill  the  same  volume,  p.  3'28,  is  the  ship's  striking,  Mr.  Cuming  went  off 

"  Vision  of  Paiieiice,"   an   allegorical  in  the  barge,  accompanied  by  the  sur- 

poem,  sacred  to  the  memory  of   Mr.  geon,  and  six   of  the  boldest  seamen, 

Alexander  Cuming,  a   young  gentle-  in   order  to  discover   what  the  island 

man  unfortunately  lost  in  the  northern  was,  but  were  never   more  heard    of. 

ocean,  on  his  return  froui  China,  1740.  Thirty-one  of  the  sailors   were  saved 

He   was  elder  brother  of  the    doctor,  out  of  one  hundred,  the  ship's  ooiJiple- 

and  first  supercargo  of  the  Suecia,   a  ment. 
Swedish    East    India  ship,  which   was 

'  For  this  article  we  arc  entirely  indebted  to  Lysons's  Environs,  vo|,  IV. 


CUMING.  157 

burs^h  for  London :  and  while  his  friends  were  meditatino- 
a  settlement  for  him  at  Lynne  in  the  room  of  the  late  sir 
William  Browne,  his  friend  Dr,  Fothergill  found  out  a 
more  promising  situation  at  Dorchester  -,  where  he  re- 
mained to  the  last,  notwithstanding  the  most  pressing  in- 
vitations from  Dr.  Fothergill  to  succeed  Dr.  Russel  in  Lon- 
don. In  the  space  of  a  few  years  after  his  establishment  at 
Dorchester,  he  came  to  be  employed  in  many,  and  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  with  an  exception  (;f  three  or  four  at  most,  in 
all  the  families  of  distinction  within  the  county,  and  fre- 
quently in  the  adjacent  ones.  At  length  his  chaste  man- 
ners, his  learning,  and  his  probity,  as  they  were  more  ge- 
nerally known,  rendered  him  not  only  the  physician,  but 
the  confidential  friend  of  some  of  the  best  families  into 
which  he  was  introduced.  His  warm  and  friendly  atten- 
tion to  the  interests  of  the  late  Mr.  Hutchins,  author  of 
the  History  of  Dorset,  in  advancing  the  publication  of  that 
well  written  and  well  arranged  work,  cannot  better  be  ex- 
pressed than  in  the  grateful  language  of  its  author :  "  One 
of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  my  acknowledgments  are  emi- 
nently due,  permitted  part  of  that  time  which  is  so  bene- 
ficially employed  to  far  better  purposes,  and  is  so  precious 
to  a  gentleman  of  his  extensive  practice,  to  be  diverted  to 
the  work  in  hand  ;  the  publication  of  which  he  patronised 
and  promoted  with  great  zeal  and  assiduity  :  nor  did  his 
success  fall  short  of  his  zeal.  Without  his  friendly  assist- 
ance my  papers  might  yet  have  remained  undelivered  to 
the  press;  or,  if  they  had  beencommitted  to  the  public,  would 
have  wanted  several  advantages  and  embellishments  with 
which  they  now  appear."  The  doctor  bequeathed  his  inter- 
leaved copy  of  this  work  to  Mr.Gough,  his  friend  and  coadj  utor 
in  its  publication.  In  1752  he  received  a  diploma  from  the 
university  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  was  soon  after  elected  a  fel- 
low of  the  royal  college  of  physicians  there,  of  which  he 
died  senior  fellow.  He  was  elected  in  1769  fellow  of  the 
society  of  antiquaries  of  London;  and  in  1781  of  that  of 
Scotland.  The  tenderness  of  his  eyes  was,  through  life, 
the  greatest  misfortune  he  had  to  struggle  with  ;  and,  <:on- 
sidering  the  many  obstacles  which  the  complaints  in  those 
organs  have  occasioned  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  it  is 
wonderful  how  he  attained  the  degree  of  erudition  which 
he  was  well  known  to  possess.  In  his  retreat  from  the 
more  busy  pursuits  of  this  world,  the  surviving  companions 
®f  his  youth  continued  the  friends  and  correspondents  of 


15S  C  U  M  I  N  G. 

his  advanced  years  ;  and  he  enjoyed  to  the  last  the  singu- 
lar satisfaction  of  being  visited  by  the  most  respectable 
persons  in  the  county  for  probity,  rank,  and  fortune.  We 
cannot  but  regret  that  the  doctor,  wlio  has  been  the  means 
of  so  many  valuable  performances  being  laid  before  the 
public,  and  some  of  them  improved  by  his  pen,  had  not 
himself  stood  forth,  to  give  that  information  for  which  he 
was  so  well  qualified,  both  in  point  of  classical  learning 
and  elegant  composition.  He  died  of  a  dropsy,  in  the  74th 
year  of  his  age,  March  25,  1788.' 

CUNi^US  (Peter),  a  very  learned  lawyer,  and  profes- 
sor in  the  university  of  Leyden,  was  born  at  Flushing,  in 
Zealand,  1586.  He  was  sent  to  Leyden  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  where  he  made  great  progress  in  the  Greek, 
Latin,  Hebrew,  Chaldaic,  and  Syriac  languages,  under 
Drusius  ;  and,  with  his  assistance,  gained  a  deep  know- 
ledge in  the  Jewish  antiquities.  In  the  early  part  of  his 
life  he  was  in  England,  whither  he  had  attended  Ambrose' 
Regemortes,  his  kinsman  ;  and  during  his  stay  here,  he, 
in  one  summer,  accurately  read  over  Homer,  and  most  of 
the  Greek  poets.  It  appears  that  he  was  at  first  designed 
for  divinity,  by  his  maintaining  theological  theses  under 
Arminius  in  1605;  but  religious  disputes  running  high  at 
that  time,  he  conceived  a  disgust  to  it,  and  applied  him- 
self to  the  belles  lettres  and  the  law.  He  was  created 
LL.  D.  at  Leyden  in  161 !,  at  which  time  he  was  chosen 
professor  of  eloquence.  He  was  afterwards  made  professor 
of  politics;  and  in  1615  of  civil  law,  which  employment 
he  held  to  his  death,  which  happened  in  1638.  He  was 
the  author  of  several  ingenious  and  learned  works  ;  and  his 
little  book,  "  De  republica  Hebra;orum,"  which  is  still  held 
in  high  esteem,  was  made  a  text-book  by  the  most  cele- 
brated professors.  Nicolai,  Goree,  and  Basnage  have  all 
published  editions  of  it  with  notes  and  comments.  His 
"  Satyra  Menippaca  in  sui  sajculi  homines  inepte  eruditos" 
was  printed  at  Leyden  in  1632,  and  as  much  admired  for 
its  wit  as  learning.     He  likewise   published  remarks  upon 

1  From  Memoirs  of  his  Life,  at  the  end  of  ihr  fourth  idition  of  Dr.  Lettsom'.< 
Life  of  Dr.  FoUiergill,  1786,  8vo.  The  Slierboin  Mercury  of  March  31  records 
his  death,  with  this  honourable  testimony  :  "  He  was  a  physician  of  learning-, 
strict  integrity,  and  great  humanity  :  possessed  of  a  liappy  turn  for  inquiry  and 
observation  ;  devoted  from  an  early  age  to  the  faitlilul  disdiarge  of  the  duties  of 
his  profession.  The  death  of  this  fxcelicnt  man  is  a  mi>fortunc  to  his  friends 
and  neighbours  more  immediately,  to  the  faculty  in  general,  and  to  all  man- 
kind." 


C  U  N  ^  U  S.  159 

Nonius's  "  Dionysiaca,"  and  some  inauguration  and  other 
speeches;  with  a  translation  of  JuHan's  Ciesars.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  parts  and  learning;  and  we  find  Vossius, 
Casaubon,  and  other  great  men,  speaking  of  him  in  the 
highest  terms  of  applause,  and  paying  the  profoundest  de- 
ference to  his  judgment.  Scahger  says,  that  he  was  ex- 
tremely learned,  but  of  a  melancholy  humuur.  Burman 
published  a  volume  of  his  "  Epistolae,"  which  contain  lite- 
rary information  and  remarks,  Leyden,  1725,  8vo. ' 

CUNITIA,  orCUNlTZ  (Maria),  a  lady  of  great  ge- 
nius and  learning,  was  born  in  Silesia  about  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  became  celebrated  for  her 
extensive  knowledge  in  many  branches  of  learning,  parti- 
cularly in  mathematics  and  astronomy,  upon  which  she 
wrote  several  ingenious  treatises;  one  of  which,  under  the 
title  of  *' Urania  Propitia,"  printed  in  1650,  in  Latin  and 
German,  she  dedicated  to  Ferdinand  III.  emperor  of  Ger- 
many. In  this  work  are  contained  astronomical  tables,  of 
great  ease  and  accuracy,  founded  upon  Kepler's  hypothe- 
sis. She  learned  languages  with  amazing  facility  ;  and 
understood  Polish,  German,  French,  Italian,  Latin,  Greek, 
and  Hebrew.  With  equal  ease  she  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  the  sciences:  history,  physic,  poetry,  painting,  music 
both  vocal  and  instrumental,  were  familiar  to  her;  and  yet 
these  were  no  more  than  her  amusement.  Her  favourite 
study  was  the  mathematics,  and  especially  astronomy,  to 
which  she  principally  applied,  and  was  not  without  reason 
ranked  among  the  most  able  astronomers  of  her  time.  She 
married  Elias  de  Lewin,  M.  D.  also  an  astronomer;  and 
they  carried  on  their  favourite  studies  for  some  time  with 
equal  reputation  and  success,  until  the  war  penetrated  into 
Silesia,  and  obliged  them  to  quit  their  residence  at 
Schweinitz,  for  Poland,  which  was  then  at  peace.  Upon 
their  journey,  although  furnished  with  the  best  passports, 
they  were  robbed  by  the  soldiers ;  but,  on  their  arrival  in 
Poland,  were  welcomed  with  every  kind  attention.  Hers 
she  composed  her  astronomical  tables  above  noticed,  first 
printed  at  Oels,  and  four  years  after  at  Franeker  or  Franc- 
fort.  Moreri  fixes  her  death  at  1664,  but  others  think  she 
was  living  in  1669,  and  then  a  widow. ^ 

'  Moreri. — Life  prefixed  to  Basnage's  "  Antiquitez  Judaiqnes,"  Amst.  1713. — 
Freheri  Theatrum. — iilouiU's  Censura. — Foppen  Bib!.  Belg. — Saxii  Onomast. 
^  13ibl.  Germanique,  vol.  Ill, — Moreri, — M.utia's  Lives  of  the  Philosophers. 


160  CUNNINGHAM. 

CUNNINGHAM  (Alexander),  an  historian,  was  born 
in  Scotland,  in  the  time  of  Cromwell's  usnrpation,  in  I  6.5 -4-; 
his  father  was  minister  at  Ettrick,  in  the  shire  and  presby- 
tery of  Selkirk.  He  was  educated,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  Scotch  sentlemen  of  those  times  who  were  of 
the  presbyterian  sect,  in  Holland,  where  we  may  suppose 
he  imbibed  his  principles  of  government,  and  was  much 
with  the  Scotch  and  English  refugees  at  the  Hague  before 
the  revolution,  particularly  with  the  earls  of  Argyle  and 
Sunderland.  He  came  over  to  England  with  the  prince  of 
Orange  ;  and  was  honoured  with  the  confidence  and  inti- 
macy of  many  leading  men  among  the  friends  of  king 
William  and  the  revolution.  We  find  him  employed,  at 
different  times,  in  the  character  of  a  travelling  companion 
or  tutor ;  first  to  the  earl  of  Hyndford  and  his  brother  Mr, 
William  Carmichael,  solicitor-general  in  the  reign  of  queen 
Anne  for  Scotland  ;  secondly,  with  the  lord  Lome,  after- 
wards so  well  known  under  the  name  of  John  duke  of 
Argyle;  and  thirdly,  with  the  lord  viscount  Lonsdale.  In 
1703  we  find  him  at  Hanover  with  the  celebrated  Addi- 
son, and  graciously  received  by  the  elector  and  princess 
Sophia. 

Lord  Lome,  at  the  time  he  was  under  the  tuition  of  Mr. 
Cunningham,  was  colonel  of  a  regiment,  which  the  father 
of  the  earl  of  Argyle  had  raised  for  his  majesty's  service  in 
Flanders.  Mr.  Cunningham's  connection  with  the  duke  of 
Argyle,  with  whom  he  had  the  honour  of  maintaining  an 
intimacy  as  long  as  he  lived,  together  with  the  opportuni- 
ties he  enjoyed  of  learning  in  his^  travels  what  may  be  called 
military  geography,  naturally  tended  to  qualify  him  for 
writing  intelligibly  on  military  affairs.  On  this  subject 
Achilles,  it  is  probable,  communicated  information  to  his 
preceptor  Chiron.  When  we  reflect  on  these  circumstan- 
ces, we  shall  the  less  wonder  that  his  accounts  of  battles 
and  sieges,  and  in  general  of  all  the  operations  of  war, 
should  he  so  copious,  and  at  the  same  time  so  conceivable 
and  satisfactory.  It  is  not  minatural  on  this  occasion  to 
call  to  mind,  that  the  historian  Polybins,  so  justly  re- 
nowned for  his  knowledge  of  both  civil  and  military  affairs, 
was  tutor  to  Scipio  Africanus. 

Mr.  Cunningham,  both  when  he  travelled  with  the  noble- 
men  abovementioned,  and  on  other  occasions,  was  em- 
ployed by  the  English  ministry  in  transmitting  secret  in- 
lelligence  to  them  on  the  most  important  subjects.     He 


CUNNINGHAM.  161 

was  also  on  sundry  occasions  employed  by  the  generals  of 
the  confederate  armies  to  carry  intelligence  and  to  make 
representations  to  the  court  of  Britain,  In  Carstares* 
State  papers,  published  by  Dr.  Macormick,  principal  of 
the  united  college  of  St.  Andrew's,  in  1774,  there  are  two 
letters  from  our  author,  dated  Paris  the  2 2d  and  26th  of 
August  1701,  giving  an  account  of  his  conferences  with 
the  marquis  de  Torcy,  the  French  minister,  relative  to  the 
Scotch  trade  with  France.  This  commercial  negotiation, 
from  the  tenor  of  Cunningham's  letters  compared  with  his 
history,  appears  to  have  been  only  the  ostensible  object  of 
his  attention  :  for  he  sent  an  exact  account  to  king  Wil- 
liam, with  whom  he  was  personally  acquainted,  of  the  mi- 
litary preparations  throughout  all  France. 

Mr.  Cunningham's  political  friends,  Argyle,  Sunder- 
land, sir  Robert  Walpole,  &c.  on  the  accession  of 
George  I.  sent  him  as  British  envoy  to  the  republic  of 
Venice,  where  he  resided  from  1715  to  1720.  His  cor- 
respondence, or  at  least  part  of  it  (for  secretary  Craggs 
carried  away  his  official  correspondence  from  the  public 
office,  and  probably,  among  others,  some  of  Mr.  Cun-? 
ningham's  letters),  with  the  secretaries  of  state  is  preserved, 
in  the  paper-office.  His  dispatches  have  been  collected 
and  arranged  by  Mr.  Astle,  who  very  obligingly  commu- 
nicated this  information  to  the  author  of  the  critical  and 
biographical  memoirs  prefixed  to  the  translation  of  the 
Latin  manuscript. 

A  question  has,  no  doubt,  been  anticipated  by  the  reader 
of  these  memorials  of  Mr.  Cunningham,  whether  he  was  not 
the  celebrated  critic  on  Horace,  and  the  author  of  the  post- 
humous criticisms  in  an  edition  of  Virgil  published  by  Ha- 
milton and  Balfour  of  Edinburgh  in  1742.  On  this  ques- 
tion, which  is,  no  doubt,  not  a  little  interesting  to  philo- 
logists, but  not  perhaps  so  interesting  as  it  would  have 
been  50  or  60  years  ago,  his  editor  Dr.  Thomson  has  ex- 
hausted not  a  little  reading,  inquiry,  and  probable  con- 
jecture, and  bestows  perhaps  more  consideration  on  it  than 
the  importance  of  the  question  deserves.  It  must  be  owned, 
at  the  same  time,  that  the  circumstances  tending  to  prove 
the  identity  of  the  critic  and  the  historian,  and  those  tend- 
ing to  prove  their  diversity,  are  so  many,  and  the  evidence 
for  and  against  each  so  nicely  balanced,  that  it  becomes  a 
question  of  infinite  curiosity  on  this  account,  and  of  im- 
portance too  as  illustrating  the  uncertainty  of  both  direct 

Vol.  XI.  M 


162  CUNNINGHAM. 

and  circumstantial   evidence. — The  historian    Alexander 
Cunningham  was  born  in  Scotland  in  the  time  of  Cromwell's 
usurpation  ;  was  educated  in  Holland,   where  he  was  inti- 
mately acq'aainted  with  many  of  the   Scotch  and  English 
refugees  at  the  Hague,  and  particularly  with  the  earls  of 
Argyle  and  Sunderland  :  he  enjoyed,  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree, the  favour  and  familiarit}'  of  the  great :  he  travelled 
with  the  duke  of  Argyle  :  he  was  distinguished  by  his  skill 
in  the  game  of  chess  :  he  was  in  politics  a  whig ;  and  he 
lived  to  extreme  old  age.     Now  there  is  very  strong  evi- 
dence that   all   these   circumstances   belong   to   the   life, 
imd  point  to  Alexander  Cunningham,  the  editor  and  com- 
ftientator  of   Horace.     It  would  seem   strange  indeed,  if 
two  Alexander  Cunninghams,  countrymen,  contemporaries, 
so  distinguished  for  erudition  and  the  familiarity  and  favour 
of  men  of  rank  and  power,  and  the  same  men  too,   should 
have  flourished  at  the  same  sera,  in  modes  of  life,  in  places 
of  residence,  in  peculiarities  of  character,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances so  nearly  parallel.     And  yet,  notwithstanding 
these  accumulated  coincidences,   there  are  circumstances 
too  of  diversity  and  opposition  that  seem  incompatible  with 
their  identity ;  and  therefore  Dr.  Thomson,  after  all  his 
inquiries  concerning  the  identity  or  the  diversity  of  the 
historian  and  the  critic,  on  that  subject  remains  sceptical ; 
and  from  those  curious  points  of  coincidence  and  opposi- 
tion  draws  the  following   pertinent   inference :    "  If  the 
writings  of  our  author  have  increased  the  stores  of  history, 
the  incidents  of  his  life,  by   shewing   the  uncertainty  of 
oral  tradition,  have  illustrated  its  importance." 

He  lived  many  years  after  his  return  from  Venice,  which 
he  seems  chiefly  to  have  passed  in  a  studious  retirement. 
In  1735  he  was  visited  in  London  by  lord  Hyndford,  at  the 
Instance  of  his  lordship's  father,  to  whom  he  had  been 
tutor;  when  he  appeared  to  be  very  old.  It  is  probable 
that  he  lived  about  two  years  after;  for  the  body  of  an 
Alexander  Cunningham  lies  interred  in  the  vicar  chancel  of 
St.  Martin's  church,  who  died  in  the  83d  year  of  his  age, 
on  the  15th  day  of  May  1737  ;  and  who  was  probably  the 
same  person. 

His  History  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  revolution  in 
1688  to  the  accession  of  George  I.  was  published  in 
two  vols.  4to,  in  1787.  It  was  written  by  Mr.  Cunning- 
ham in  Latin,  but  was  translated  into  English  by  the  rev. 
'I>r.  William-  Thomson.  The  original  manuscript  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  rev.  Dr.  Hollingberry,  archdea- 


CUNNINGHAM.  163 

con  of  Chichester,  soine  of  whose  relations  had  been  con- 
nected with  the  author.  He  communicated  it  to  the  late 
earl  of  Hardwicke,  and  to  Dr.  Douglas,  the  late  bishop  of 
Salisbury,  both  of  whom  recommended  the  publication. 
In  a  short  preface  to  the  work,  the  archdeacon  says:  "  My 
first  design  was  to  have  produced  it  in  the  original ;  but, 
knowing  how  few  are  sufficiently  learned  to  understand, 
and  how  many  are  indisposed  to  read  two  quarto  volumes  in 
Latin,  however  interesting  and  entertaining  the  subject 
may  be,  I  altered  my  purpose,  and  intended  to  have  sent 
it  into  the  world  in  a  translation.  A  nervous  fever  de- 
priving me  of  the  power,  defeated  the  scheme."  Accord- 
ingly, he  afterwards  transferred  the  undertaking  to  Dr. 
Thomson  ;  and,  we  are  told  by  Dr.  Holiingberry  that  this 
gentlemfin  "  has  expressed  the  sense  of  the  author  with 
fidelity."  The  work  was  undoubtedly  well  deserving  ot 
publication.  It  contains  the  history  of  a  very  interesting 
period,  written  by  a  man  who  had  a  considerable  degree 
of  authentic  information,  and  his  book  contains  many  cu- 
rious particulars  not  to  be  found  in  other  histories.  His 
characters  are  often  drawn  with  judgment  and  impartiality  : 
at  other  times  they  are  somewhat  tinctured  with  prejudice. 
This  is  particularly  the  case  with  respect  to  general  Stan- 
hope and  bishop  Burnet,  against  whom  he  appears  to  have 
conceived  a  stroiig  personal  dislike.  He  sometimes  also 
indulges  himself  in  severe  sarcasms  on  the  clergy,  and  on 
the  female  sex.  But  he  was  manifestly  a  very  attentive 
observer  of  the  transactions  of  his  own  time ;  his  works 
abound  in  just  political  remarks;  and  the  facts  which  he 
relates  are  exhibited  with  great  perspicuity,  and  often 
with  much  animation.  Throughout  his  book  he  frequently 
intersperses  some  account  of  the  literature  and  of  the  most 
eminent  persons  of  the  age  concerning  which  he  writes ; 
and  he  has  also  adorned  his  work  with  many  allusions  to 
the  classics  and  to  ancient  history 

The  compilers  of  the  EncyclopcBTjia  Britannica  thus  con- 
clude their  article  on  this  subject;  "  Alexander  Cunning- 
ham, the  author  of  the  History  of  Great  Britain,  has  been 
supposed  to  be  the  same  person  with  Alexander  Cunning- 
ham who  published  an  edition  of  Horace  at  the  Hague,  in 
2  vols.  8vo.  1721,  which  is  hiiihly  esteemed.  But,  from 
the  best  information  we  have  been  able  to  collect,  they 
were  certainly  different  persons  ;  though  they  were  both 
of  the  same  name,  lived  at  the  same  time,  had  boik^  been 

M   2 


164  CUNNINGHAM. 

travelling  tutors,  were  both  said  to  have  been  eminent  for 
their  skill  at  the  game  of  chess,  and  both  lived  to  a  very 
advanced  age.  The  editor  of  Horace  is  generally  said  to 
have  died  in  Holland,  where  he  taught  both  the  civil  and 
canon  laws,  and  where  he  had  collected  a  very  large  library, 
which  was  sold  in  that  country."  That  these  remarks  are 
just  has  been  since  placed  beyond  a  doubt  by  a  writer, 
under  the  signature  of  Crito,  in  the  Scots  Magazine  for 
October  1804,  who  proves  that  the  editor  of  Horace  died 
at  the  Hague  in  1730,  and  the  historian  at  London  in 
1737.' 

CUNNINGHAM  (John),  a  poet  of  considerable  repu- 
tation, was  born  in  1729  in  Dublin,  where  his  father  and. 
mother,  both  descendants  of  Scotch  parents,  then  resided. 
His  father  was  a  wine  cooper,  and  becoming  enriched  by  a' 
prize  in  the  lottery,  commenced  wine-merchant,  and 
failed.  The  little  education  our  author  received  was  from 
a  Mr.  Clark,  who  was  master  of  the  grammar-school  of  the 
city  of  Drogheda  ;  and  when  his  father's  affairs  became 
embarrassed,  he  was  recalled  to  Dublin,  where  he  pro- 
duced many  of  his  lesser  poems  at  a  very  early  age.  At 
seventeen  he  wrote  a  farce,  entitled  "  Love  in  a  Mist,** 
which  was  acted  for  several  nif^hts  at  Dublin  in  1747.  Gar- 
rick  is  said  to  have  been  indebted  to  this  farce  for  the  fable 
or  plot  of  his  *'  Lying  Valet."  The  success  of  his  little 
drama  procured  him  the  freedom  of  the  theatre,  to  which 
he  became  immoderately  attached,  and  mistaking  inclina- 
tion for  ability,  commenced  actor  without  one  essential 
qualification  either  natural  or  acquired,  if  we  except  a 
knack  at  personating  the  mock  French  character,  in  which 
he  is  said  to  have  been  tolerable.  His  passion  for  the 
stage,  however,  predominated  so  strongly,  that  without 
any  intimation  of  his  intentions,  he  left  his  family  and 
embarked  for  England,  where  he  obtained  a  precarious 
and  unprofitable  employment  in  various  companies  of 
strolling  comedians.  Frequent  want  made  him  at  length 
sensible  of  his  imprudence,  but  pride  prevented  his  return 
to  his  friends;  and  the  death  of  his  father  in  circumstances 
of  distress,  probably  reconciled  him  to  a  way  of  life  which 
he  could  not  now  exchange  for  a  better.  About  the  year 
1761  we  find  him  a  performer  at  Edinburgh,  where  he 
published  his  "  Elegy  on  a  Pile  of  Ruins,"  which,  although 

'  Biog.  Brit. — Tytler'g  Life  of  Lord  Kanie3.-»-EncycIop3Edia  Britannica. 


CUNNINGHA  M.  165 

obviously  an  imitation  of  Gray's  Elegy,  contains  many 
passages  conceived  in  the  true  spirit  of  poetry,  and  ob- 
tained considerable  reputation.  During  liis  theatrical  en- 
gagement at  Edinburgh,  although  insignificant  as  an  actor, 
he  was  of  some  value  to  the  manager,  by  furnishing  pro- 
logues and  other  occasional  addresses,  which  were  much 
applauded- 

About  this  time  he  received  an  invitation  from  certain 
booksellers  in  London,  who  proposed  to  engage  him  in 
such  works  of  literature  as  might  procure  him  a  more  easy 
and  honourable  employment  than  he  had  hitherto  followed. 
He  repaired  accordingly  to  the  metropolis,  but  was  disap- 
.  pointed  in  the  promised  undertaking  by  the  bankruptcy  of 
the  principal  person  concerned  in  it,  and  after  a  short 
.  sta}',  was  glad  to  return  to  his  friends  in  the  north.  This 
was  the  only  effort  he  ever  made  to  emerge  from  the  ab- 
ject situation  in  which  youthful  imprudence  had  originally 
placed  him,  and  contented  indolence  possessed  him  so  en- 
tirely, that  he  never  made  a  second  attempt.  In  a  letter 
to  a  friend  he  describes  himself  in  these  terms  :  "  You  may. 
remember  ray  last  expedition  to  London.  I  think  I  may 
be  convinced  by  it,  that  I  am  not  calculated  for  the  busi- 
ness you  mention.  Though  I  scribble  (but  a  little  neither) 
to  amuse  myself,  the  moment  I  considered  it  as  my  duty,  it 
would  cease  to  be  an  amusement,  and  I  should  of  conse- 
quence be  weary  on't.  I  am  not  enterprizing  ;  and  tole- 
ably  happy  in  my  present  situation." 

In  1762  he  published  "The  Contemplatist,"  but  with 
less  success  than  his  Elegy.  This  is  indeed  the  worst  of 
all  his  productions,  and  was  censured  with  much  force  of 
ridicule  by  a  writer  in  the  Monthly  Review.  It  abounds 
with  glittering  and  absurd  conceits,  and  had  it  been  pub- 
lished now,  might  have  been  mistaken  for  a  satire  on  the 
maukish,  namby-pamby  stuff  which  the  author  of  the 
Baviad  and  Maiviad  has  chastised  with  equal  justice  and 
humour.  It  may  here  be  mentioned  that  in  1765  he  pub- 
lished "  Fortune,  an  Apologue,"  in  which  there  are  some 
poetical  beauties,  particularly  the  description  of  avarice, 
but  not  much  consistency  of  plan  ;  and  in  the  following 
year  collected  his  poems  into  a  volume,  which  was  ho- 
noured by  a  numerous  list  of  subscribers. 

For  some  time,  he  was  a  performer  in  Mr.  Digges's 
company  at  Edinburgh,  and  on  that  gentleman's  quitting 
Scotland,  returned  to  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  a  spot  which 


1(56  CUNNINGHAM. 

had  been  his  residence  for  many  years,  and  which  he  con'« 
sidered  as  his  home.  Here  aiid  in  the  neighbouring  towns 
he  earned  a  scanty  subsistence.  Although  his  mode  of  life 
was  not  of  the  reputable  kind,  his  blameless  and  obliging 
conduct  procured  him  many  friends,  and  in  their  society 
hte  passed  his  days  without  any  effort  to  improve  his  situa- 
tion. Yet  in  the  verses  he  wrote  about  three  weeks  before 
he  died,  it  appears  that  he  was  not  quite  so  contented  as 
his  biographer  has  represented.  A  few  months  before  that 
event,  being  incapable  of  any  theatrical  exertion,  he  was  re- 
moved to  the  house  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Slack  of  Newcastle, 
who  with  great  kindness  received  him  under  his  roof,  and 
paid  every  attention  to  him  which  his  state  required.  After 
lino-erinjr  some  time  under  a  nervous  disorder,  during: 
xvhich  he  burnt  all  his  papers,  he  died  on  the  18th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1773,  and  was  buried  in  St.  John's  church-yard, 
Newcastle. 

Although  Cunningham  cannot  be  admitted  to  a  very 
high  rank  among  poets,  he  may  be  allowed  to  possess  a 
considerable  share  of  genius.  His  poems  have  a  peculiar 
svveetness  and  elegance  ;  his  sentiments  are  generally  na- 
tural, and  his  language  simple,  and  appropriate  to  his  sub- 
ject, except  in  some  of  his  longer  pieces,  where  he  accu- 
mulates epithets  that  appear  to  be  laboured,  and  are  some- 
times uncouth  compounds,  either  obsolete  or  unauthorized. 
As  he  contemplated  nature  with  a  fond  and  minute  atten- 
tion, and  had  familiarized  his  mind  to  rural  scenes  and 
images,  his  pastorals  will  probably  continue  to  be  his  most 
favoured  efforts.  He  has  in  formed  us  that  Shenstone,  with 
whose  correspondence  he  was  honoured,  encouraged  him 
to  cultivate  this  species  of  poetry.  His  "Landscape"  is  a 
cluster  of  beauties  which  every  reader  must  feel,  but  such  as 
only  a  very  accurate  observer  of  nature  could  have  grouped 
with  equal  effect.  His  fables  are  ingenious,  and  his  lyric 
pieces  were  at  one  time  in  very  high  estimation,  and  cer- 
tamly  cannot  suffer  by  a  comparison  with  their  successors 
on  the  stage  and  public  gardens ;  and,  upon  the  whole, 
his  works  have  lost  little  of  the  popularity  with  which  they 
T^ere  origitially  favoured. '  -'' 

CUNINGHAM    (William),  was   a  physician  in  Lon- 
don, who  resided  in  Coleman-street  some  years  of  his  life. 

I  Johnson   <ind  Chalmers's  English  Poets,   IS}0. — The  first  account  of  Cua^ 
nin;^baat  appeared  in  the  Lond.  Mag.  1773,  p.  493. 


C  U  N  I  N  G  H  A  M.  1^7 

About  1556 — 1559  he  lived  at  Norwich,  and  in  1563  he 
was  a  public  lecturer  in  surgeons'-hall,  London.  Bishop 
Bull  applauded  him  much  for  his  knowledge  in  astronomy 
and  physic.  lie  was  certainly  a  man  of  considerable 
learning,  and  much  admired  for  his  ingenuity  in  the  art 
of  engraving  on  copper.  In  1559  he  published  his  '*  Cosr 
mographical  Glass,  conteyning  the  pleasant  principles  of 
Cosmographie,  Geographic,  Hydrographie,  or  Naviga- 
tion," fol.  He  executed  several  of  the  cuts  in  this  book 
himself.  The  map  of  Norwich,  Mr.  Granger  thinks,  i$ 
curious  and  fine.  He  wrote  also  a  Commentary  on  Hip- 
pocrates, "  De  Aere,  Aquis  et  Regionibus,"  and  a  "  Trea- 
tise on  the  French  Disease."  ' 

CUPER,  orCUPERUS  (Gisbeut),  a  learned  philologist, 
was  born   Sept.  14,    1614,  at  Hemmem,  in  the  duchy  of 
Guelderland,    and  educated    first   at   home,    and  then  at 
Nimegueu,    where  after  attending    a   course  of  rhetoric, 
philosophy',  mathematics,   history,   law,  and  theology,    he 
found  his  inclination  drawing  him  more  closely  to  matters 
of  taste  and  polite  literature.     With  a  view  to  further  im- 
l^rovement  in  these  branches,  he  went  to  Leyden,   and  put 
himself  for  some  time  under  the  direction  of  the  elder 
Gronovius.     He  came  afterwards  to  Paris,  and  while  he 
was  about  to  leave  that  city  for  Italy,  he  was  appointed 
professor  of  history  at  Deventer,   when  he  was  only  in  his 
•wen ty- fifth   year.      The  reputation   he   acquired   in  this 
office,  raised  him  to  the  magistracy,  and  he  was  employed 
by  the  states  of  Overyssel  in  various  important  transactions. 
Having  carried  on  a  correspondence  with  some  distinguished 
members  of  the  French  academy  of  inscriptions,  he  was 
chosen     an    honorary   member.      He  died    at    Deventer, 
Nov.  22,  1716,   in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age.      His 
works  are:    1.   "  Observationum    Libri  III."   on  different 
Greek  and  Latin  authors,"  Utrecht,  1670,   8vo.     2.  "  Har- 
pocrates,   et  Monumenta  antiqua  inedita,"   Utrecht,    1676, 
li87,  and  1694,   4to.     3.  An  additional  book  or  volume  of 
observations  on  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  Deventer, 
1678,    8vo.      4.    "  Apotheosis,  vei  consecratio   Homeri," 
Amst.    1683,    4to.     5.   *'  Historia  trium  Gordianum,"   De- 
venter,  1697,   12mo;  and  ibid.    1697,  8vo.     6.  "   Lettres 
de  critique,  d'histoire,  de   iitterature,   &c."   Amst.    1742, 
4to.     He  also  wrote  a  preface  and  notes  to  the  edition  of 

'  Tanner.— Granger.— Aikin's  Biog.  Memoirs  of  Medicine. 


168  C  U  P  E  R. 

Lactantius  "  de  movtibus  persecutorum,"  Abo,  1684,  and 
Utrecht,  1692.  His  correspondence  with  the  literary  men 
of  his  age  was  very  extensive,  and  many  of  his  letters 
have  been  published  in  various  collections ;  particularly  in 
**  Celeberrimorum  virorum  epistolae,"  Wittemberg,  1716, 
8vo,  in  "  Schelhornii  Amcenitates,"  Leipsic,  1738,  8vo ; 
in  Burman's  Sylloge;"  in  the  "  Sylloge  nova  Epistolarum," 
Nuremberg,  1759,  8vo ;  and  lastly,  by  Betou,  in  his  work 
*'  De  Aris  et  Lapidibus  Votivis  ad  Neomagum  et  Sanctenum 
effosis,"  Neomag.  1783,  8vo.* 
•    CURCELLEUS.     See  COURCELLES. 

CURIO  (CcELius  Secundus),  of  Pi6mont,  was  born  at 
San  Chirico,  in  1503,  of  a  noble  family,  and  cultivated 
philosophy,  and  made  several  journies  in  Germany  and 
Italy.  Having  abjured  the  religion  of  Rome  to  embrace 
the  doctrines  of  Luther,  he  was  thrown  into  prison,  and 
confined  for  several  months,  but  without  this  making  any 
impression  on  his  sentiments;  and  he  was  no  sooner  re- 
leased than  he  played  a  very  bold  trick.  Having  access  to 
the  relics  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Benigno,  he  executed 
the  plan  of  carrying  away  the  holy  shrine,  and  leaving  in 
its  place  what  to  Ijim  was  more  holy  and  estimable,  the 
Bible,  inscribed  with  these  words,  "  Haec  est  area  foe- 
deris, ex  qua  vera  sciscitari  oracula  liceat,  et  in  qua  veroe 
sunt  sanctorum  reliquiae."  As,  however,  he  was  aware 
the  fury  of  the  populace  would  not  permit  him  to  escape 
with  his  life,  if  he  were  suspected,  he  thought  it  prudent  to 
retire,  and  we  find  him  afterwards  at  Milan,  where  he 
married  in  1530,  and  began  to  preach.  Having  fixed  his 
abode  near  Casal,  he  one  day  heard  a  Dominican  de- 
claiming loudly  against  Luther,  and  charging  him  with 
criminal  acts  and  heretical  notions,  of  which  he  was  not 
guilty;  he  asked  permission  to  give  an  answer  to  the  out- 
rageous preacher.  This  being  granted  :  "  My  father," 
said  he  to  the  monk,  "  you  have  attributed  to  Luther  a 
nimiber  of  terrible  declarations;  but  where  does  he  say 
them  ?  Can  you  point  me  out  the  book  where  he  has  de- 
livered such  a  doctrine  ?" — The  monk  replied  that  he  could 
not  immediately  shew  him  the  passage  ;  but  that,  if  he 
would  go  with  him  to  Turin,  he  would  point  it  out  to 
him. — "  And  I,"  said  Curio,  "  will  shew  you  this  moment 
that  what  you  advance  cannot  be  true."     Then  pulling  out 

1  Moreri.r— Saxii  Onomasticon. 


CURIO.  169 

of  his  pocket  Luther's  Commentary  on  the  epistle  to  the 
Galatians,  he  refuted  the  Dominican  with  so  much  strensrth 
of  argument,   that  the  crowd  fell   upon  him,    and   it  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  he   escaped  out  of  their  hands. 
The  inquisition  and  the  bishop  of  Turin  being  informed  of 
this  quarrel,  Curio  was  arrested  ;  but  the  bishop,  perceiving 
that  he  was  supported  by  a   considerable   party,  went  to 
Rome,   to  receive  advice  from  the  pope  in  what  maimer  he 
should  proceed.     In  the  mean  time,  Curio  was  carried  in 
irons  to  a  private  prison,  and  kept  under  a  constant  guard  ; 
but,    notwithstanding  these  precautions,    found  means  to 
escape  during  the   night.     He  fled  to  Salo,   in   the  duchy 
of  Milan,  and  from  thence  to  Pavia ;   whence,  three  years 
afterwards,  he  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  at  Venice,  be- 
cause the  pope  had  threatened   to  excommunicate  the  se- 
nate of  Pavia,  if  they  did  not  put  him  under  an  arrest. 
From  Venice  Curio  went  successively  to  Ferrara,  to  Lucca, 
to  Lausanne,  in  Switzerland,  where  he  was  made  principal 
of  the  college,  and  lastly  to  Bale,  in  1547.     Here  he  be- 
came professor  of  eloquence  and  the  belles-lettres,   which 
situation  he  held  until  his  death,  which  happened  in  1569, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-seven.     There  is  a  singular  work  by 
him,  entitled  *'  De  amplitudine  beati  regni  Dei,"  Bale, 
1550,   8vo,   in  which  he  extends  that  kingdom  to  the  com- 
prehension of  a  far  greater  number  of  elect  than   the  ge- 
nerality of  divines  allow.      He  also  wrote  :     1.  "  Opus- 
cula,"   Bale,    1544,   8vo,  scarce,  and  containing  a  disser- 
tation on  Providence,  another  on  the  Immortality  of  the 
Soul,   &c.     2.   "   Letters,"  Bale,    1553,    8vo.     3.   "   Cal- 
vinus  Judaisans,"    1595,  Svo.     4.  To  him  are  attributed  : 
"  PasquiUorum  tomi  duo,"    1544,  2   parts   in    1   vol.   Svo. 
What  has   led -the  critics  to  think  him  the  editor  of  this 
collection,  is,  that  he  is  indeed  the  author  of  the  two  edi- 
tions of  "   Pasquillus  extaticus,"    8vo,    the  one   without 
date,  the  other  of  Geneva,   1544.     The  second   was  re- 
printed  with   "  Pasquillus  theologaster,"    Geneva,    1C67, 
12mo.     TlkCse  are  satires,  which  petulance  on  one  side, 
and  the  desire  of  suppressing  them  on  the  other,  have  oc- 
casioned to  be  sought  after.     The  book-collectors  add  to 
these,  two  volumes,  the  works  of  a  certain  German,  named 
"  Pasquillus  merus."     This  makes  a  third  volume,   which 
has  scarcely  any  relation   to  the  former,   nor  is  either  of 
much  value.     5.   A  Latin  translation  of  Guicciardini's  his^ 
tory,   1566,  2  vols.  fol.     6.  <'  De  Bello  Melitense,  anng 


170  CURIO. 

1565,"  8vo,  inserted  in  Muratori.  7.  "  Vita  et  doctrina 
Davidis  Georgii  haeresiarchac,"  Bale,  1599,  4to.  8.  "  Fo- 
rurn  Romanum,"  a  Latin  dictionary,  Bale,  1576,  3  vols. 
fol.  9.  "  Historia  Francisci  Spirse,"  8vo,  &c.  Of  a  very- 
scarce  work  of  his,  *'  Paraphrasis  in  principium  Evangelii 
S.  Johannis,"  but  which,  if  we  mistake  not,  was  originally 
published  among  his  "  Opuscula,"  an  extract  may  be  seen 
in  the  "  New  Memoirs  of  Literature,"  vol,  XIIL' 

CUROPALATES.     See  SCYLITZES. 

CURRIE  (James),  M.  D.  an  eminent  physician  of  Li- 
verpool, was  born  at  Kirkpatrick-Flemming,   in   Dumfries- 
shire, on   May   31st,    1756,  where   his   father  was   the  es- 
tablished   minister,    but    afterwards  removed    to    that    of 
Middlebie.     He  received  the  rudiments  of  learning  at  the 
parish  school  of  his  native  place,   whence  be  was  removed 
to  the  grammar-school  of  Dumfries.     His  original  desti- 
nation was  for  a  commercial  life,  and  he  passed  some  years 
of  his  youth  in  Virginia,  in  a  mercantile  station.     Disliking 
this  profession,  and  unwilling  to  be  a  witness   of  the  im- 
pending troubles  in  the  American  colonies,  he  quitted  that 
country  in  1776,  and  in  the  following  year  commenced  a 
course  of  naedical  study  at  the  university  of  Edinburgh, 
which  occupied  him  almost  without  interruption  for  three 
years.     A  prospect  of  an  appointment  in  the  medical  staff 
of  the  army,  which  would  not  admit  of  the  usual   delay  of 
an  Edinburgh  graduation,    induced  him  to  take  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  pb«ysic  at  Glasgow.     He  arrived,  however,  in 
London,  too  late  for  the  expected  place  ;  but  still  deter- 
mining to  go  abroad,  he  had  taken   his  pas-^age  in  a  ship 
for  Jamaica,    when   a  severe    indisposition   prevented   his 
sailing,  and  entirely  changed  his  lot  in  life.      He  renounced 
his  first  intention ;  and,  after  some  consideration  respecting 
an  eligible  settlement,  he  fixed   upon  the  commercial  and 
rapidly-increasing   town   of  Liverpool,   which  became  his 
residence  from  1781,  and  where  he  soon  rose  into  general 
•steem.     Indeed,  it  was  not  possible,  even  upon    a  casual 
acquaintance,  for  a  judge  of  mankind  to  fail  of  being  struck 
by  his  manly  urbanity  of  behaviour,  by  the  elegance  and 
variety  of  his  conversation,  by  the  solid  sense  and  sagacity 
of  his  remarks,  and  by  the  tokens  of  a  feeling  heart,  which 
graced   and  dignified  the   qualities  of  his  understanding. 
No  man  was  ever  more  highly  regarded  by  his  friends  ;  no 

>  Niceron. — Frehcri  Theainnn. — Moreri. — Saxii  Onomast.     But  fer  his  publi- 
cations, Clement  liibl.  Curieuse. 


C  U  R  R  I  E»  17t 

pliysician  ever  inspired  more  confidence  and  attachment  ia 
his  patients. 

In  1783,  Dr.  Currie  made  a  very  desirable  matrimonial 
connection  with  Lucy,  the  daughter  of  William  Wallace, 
esq.  an  Irish  merchant  in  Liverpool.  Of  this  marriage,  a 
numerous  and  amiable  family  was  the  fruit,  by  which  his 
name  promises  to  be  worthily  perpetuated.  His  profes- 
sional employment  rapidly  increased  ;  he  was  elected  one 
of  the  physicians  of  the  infirmary,  and  took  his  station 
among  the  distinguished  characters  of  the  place  of  his  re- 
sidence. 

His  first  appearance  from  the  press  was  on  occasion  of 
the  lamented  death  of  his  intimate  friend  Dr.  Bell,  a 
young  physician  of  great  hopes,  settled  at  Manchester. 
His  elegant  and  interesting  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
this  person  was  published  in  1785,  in  the  first  volume 
of  the  Transactions  of  the  Manchester  Philosophical 
and  Literary  Society,  of  which  they  were  both  members. 
He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  London  Medical  Society 
in  1790,  and  communicated  to  it  a  paper  "  On  Te- 
tanus and  Convulsive  Disorders,"  published  in  the  third 
volume  of  its  memoirs.  In  1792  he  became  a  fellow  of 
the  Royal  Society.  A  very  curious  and  instructive  "  Ac-* 
count  of  the  remarkable  effects  of  a  shipwreck,"  commu- 
nicated by  him  to  that  body,  was  published  in  the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  of  that  year.  Soon  after  this,  having 
with  many  other  men  of  political  study,  viewed  the  war  with 
France  consequent  to  its  great  revolutionary  struggle  with 
disapprobation,  with  respect  as  well  to  its  principles,  as  to 
its  probable  effect  on  the  happiness  of  both  countries,  he 
wrote  a  pamphlet.  This  appeared  in  1793,  under  the  title 
of  "  A  Letter  Commercial  and  Political,  addressed  to  the 
right  hon.  William  Pitt;  by  Jasper  Wilson,  esq.;"  it  soon 
attained  a  second  edition,  and  various  answers  attested  the 
degree  of  importance  attached  to  it  in  the  public  estima- 
tion. In  the  mean  time,  he  was  far  from  being  neglectful 
of  the  duties  of  his  profession.  To  those  who  employed 
him  he  was  abundantly  known  as  a  skilful  and  sedulous 
practitioner  ;  and  the  medical  papers  he  had  already  pub- 
lished gave  him  reputation  among  his  brethren.  This  re- 
putation was  widely  extended  and  raised  to  an  eminent, 
degree  by  a  publication  which  first  appeared  in  October 
1797,  entitled  "  Medical  Reports  on  the  Efltects  of  Water 
Cold  and  Warm,  as  a  Remedy  in  Febrde  Diseases  ;  with 
observations  on  the  nature  of  Fever,  and  on  the  effects  of 


172  C  U  R  R  I  E. 

opium,  alcohol,  and  inanition."  The  practice  of  affusion 
of  cold  water  in  fevers,  which  is  the  leading  topic  in  this 
work,  was  suggested  to  the  author  by  Dr.  Wright's  narra- 
tive, in  the  London  Medical  Journal,  of  his  successful 
treatment  of  a  fever  in  a  homeward-bound  ship  from  Ja- 
maica. Dr.  Currie  copied  and  greatly  extended  it,  and 
investigated  the  principles  by  which  its  use  should  be  di- 
rected and  regulated.  He  discovered  that  the  safety  and 
advantage  of  the  application  of  cold  was  proportionate  to 
the  existing  augmentation  of  the  animal  heat ;  and  he  found 
the  thermometer  a  very  valuable  instrument  to  direct  the 
practitioner's  judgment  in  febrile  cases.  He  may  there- 
fore be  considered  as  the  principal  author  of  a  practice 
■which  has  already  been  attended  with  extraordinary  suc- 
cess in  numerous  instances,  and  bids  fair  to  prove  one  of 
the  greatest  medical  improvements  in  modern  times.  The 
work,  which  contained  many  ingenious  speculations  and 
valuable  observations,  was  generally  read  and  admired.  A 
new  volume  was  added  to  it  in  1804,  consisting  of  much 
interesting  matter  on  different  topics,  especially  in  con- 
firmation of  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  former  volume 
respecting  cold  affusion.  The  free  and  successful  employ- 
ment of  this  remedy  in  the  scarlatina,  was  one  of  its  most 
important  articles.  The  author  had  the  satisfaction  of  re- 
ceiving numerous  acknowledgments  of  the  benefit  derived 
from  his  instructions,  both  in  private  and  in  naval  and  mi- 
litary practice.  He  himself  was  so  much  convinced  of  the 
utility  of  the  methods  he  reconm:iended,  that  a  revision  of 
the  whole  work  for  a  new  edition,  was  one  of  the  latest  la- 
bours of  his  life. 

Dr.  Currie  might  now,  without  danger  to  his  profes- 
sional character,  indulge  his  inclination  for  the  ornauiental 
parts  of  literature  ;  and  an  occasion  offered  in  which  he 
had  the  happiness  of  rendering  his  taste  and  his  benevo- 
lence equally  conspicuous.  On  a  visit  to  his  native  county, 
in  1792,  he  hiKJ  become  personally  acquainted  with  that 
rustic  son  of  genius,  Robert  Burns.  "^I'his  extraordinary, 
hut  unfortunate  man,  having  at  his  death  Left  his  family  in 
great  indigence,  a  subscription  was  made  in  Scotland  for 
their  immediate  relief,  and  at  the  same  time  a  design  was 
formed,  of  publishing  an  edition  of  his  printed  works  and 
remains  for  their  emolument.  Mr.  Syme,  of  Ryedale,  ;m 
old  and  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Currie,  strongly  urged  him 
to  undertake  the  office  of  editor  ;  and  to  this  request,  in 
which  other  friends  of  the  poet's  memory  concurred,  he 


C  U  R  R  I  E.  173 

could  not  withhold  his  acquiescence,  notwithstanding  ViLs 
multiplied  engagements,  lu  1800  he  published  in  4  vols. 
8vo,  *'  The  Works  of  Robert  Burns,  with  an  account  of 
his  Life,  and  a  criticism  on  his  Writings  :  to  which  are 
prefixed,  some  Observations  on  the  Character  and  Con- 
dition of  the  Scottish  Peasantry."  These  volumes  were  a 
rich  treat  to  the  lovers  of  poetry  and  elegant  literature ; 
and  Dr.  Currie's  part  in  them,  as  a  biographer  and  critic, 
was  greatly  admired,  as  well  for  beauty  of  style,  as  for  li- 
berality of  sentiment  and  sagacity  of  remark.  If  any  ob- 
jection was  made  to  him  as  an  editor,  on  account  of  unne- 
cessary extension  of  the  materials,  the  kind  purpose  for 
which  the  publication  was  undertaken,  pleaded  his  excuse 
with  all  who  were  capable  of  feeling  its  force.  Its  success 
fully  equalled  the  most  sanguine  expectations. 

Though  externally  of  a  vigorous  frame  of  bod}',  Dr. 
Currie  had  a  pre-disposition  to  those  complaints  which 
usually  shorten  life;  and  in  1784  he  had  experienced  a 
pulmonary  attack  of  an  alarming  nature,  from  which  he 
was  extraordinarily  recovered  by  the  use  of  horse-exercise, 
^s  related  by  himself  in  his  case,  inserted  in  the  second 
volume  of  Dr.  Darwin's  "  Zoonomia."  He  was,  however, 
seldom  long  free  from  threatenings  of  a  return,  and  his 
health  began  visibly  to  decline  in  the  early  part  of  1804. 
In  the  summer  of  that  year  he  took  a  journey  to  Scotland, 
wiiere,  among  other  sources  of  gratification,  he  had  that 
of  witnessing-  the  happy  effects  of  his  kindness  on  the  fa- 
mily of  Burns.  His  letters  on  this  occasion  were  delight- 
ful displays  of  benevolence  rejoicing  in  its  work.  He  re- 
turned with  some  temporary  amendment;  but  alarming 
symptoms  soon  returned,  and  in  November  he  found  it  ne- 
cessary to  quit  the  climate  and  business  of  Liverpool.  He 
spent  the  winter  alternately  at  Clifton  and  Bath ;  and  in 
the  month  of  March  appeared  to  himself  in  a  state  of  con- 
valescence, which  justified  his  taking  a  house  in  Bath,  and 
commencing  the  practice  of  his  profession.  From  the 
manner  in  which  his  career  opened,  there  could  be  no  doubt 
that  it  would  have  proved  eminently  successful ;  but  the 
concluding  scene  was  hastily  approaching.  As  a  last  re- 
source, he  went  in  August  to  Sidmouth,  where,  after  much 
suffering,  which  he  bore  with  manly  fortitude  and  pious 
resignation,  he  expired  on  August  31st,  1805,  in  the 
fiftieth  year  of  his  age.  His  disease  was  ascertained  to  be 
a  great  enlargement  and  flaccidity  of  the  heart,  accompa- 


174  C  U  R  R  I  E. 

Tiied  with  remarkable  wasting  of  the  left  lung,  but  without 
ulceration,  tubercle,  or  abscess. 

Few  men  have  left  the  world  with  a  more  amiable  and 
estimable  character,  proved  in  every  relation  of  life,  public 
and  domestic.  In  his  professional  conduct  he  was  upright, 
liberal,  and  honourable  ;  with  much  sensibility  for  his  pa- 
tients, without  the  affectation  of  it ;  fair  and  candid  towards 
his  brethren  of  the  faculty  ;  and  though  usually  decided 
in  his  opinion,  yet  entirely  free  from  arrogance  or  dog- 
matism. His  behaviour  was  singularly  calculated  to  con- 
vert rivals  into  friends  ;  and  some  of  those  who  regarded 
him  with  the  greatest  esteem  and  affection,  have  been  the 
persons  who  divided  practice  with  him.  His  powers  of 
mind  were  of  the  highest  rank,  equally  fitted  for  action 
and  speculation  ;  his  morals  were  pure,  his  principles 
exalted.  His  life,  though  much  too  short  to  satisfy  the 
■wishes  of  his  friends  and  family,  was  long  enough  for  signal 
usefulness  and  for  lasting  fame.' 

CURTIS  (William),  an  eminent  botanist,  was  born  at 
Alton,  in  Hampshire,   in  1746.     At  the  age  of  fourteen  he 
was  bound  apprentice  to  his  grandfather,  an  apothecary  at 
Alton,  and  appears  to  have  first  acquired  a  particular  taste 
for  botany,  from  an  acquaintance  in  humble  life,  the  ostler 
of  an  adjoining  inn,  who  had  studied  some  of  the  popular 
Herbals.     Some  more  systematic  works  falling  in  his  way 
soon  after,  instilled  into  his  apt  and  ardent  mind,  principles 
of  method,  and  of  Linnajan  philosophy,  which  neither  his 
original  preceptor,  nor  the  books  he  studied,  could  ever 
have  taught.     At  the  age  of  twenty,  Mr.  Curtis  came  to 
London,  in  order  to  finish  his  medical  education,  and   to 
seek  an  establishment  in  the  profession  to  which  he  was 
destined.     He  was  associated  with  a  Mr.  Talwin  of  Grace- 
church-street,  to  whose  business  he  at  lenoth  succeeded  : 
but  not  without  having  from  time  to  time  received  many 
reproofs  and  warnings,  respecting  the  interference  of  his 
botanical  pursuits  with   the  more  obviously  advantageous 
ones  of  his  profession.     Nor  were  these  warnings  without 
cause.     The  street-walking  duties  of  a  city  practitioner 
but  ill  accorded  with  the  wild  excursions  of  a  naturalist; 
the  apothecary  was  soon  swallowed  up  in  the  botanist,  and 
the  shop  exchanged  for  a  garden.     Mr.  Curtis,  therefore, 
became  a  lecturer  on  the  principles  of  natural  science,  and 

*  From  a  Sketch  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Aikin,  inserted  ia  the  literary  journals. 


CURTIS.  !75 

a  demonstrator  of  practical  botany.  His  pupils  frequented 
his  garden,  studied  in  liis  library,  and  followed  him  into 
the  fields  in  his  herborizincr  excursions.  His  first  garden 
was  situated  at  Bermondsey ;  afterwards  he  occupied  a 
more  extensive  one  at  Lambeth  Marsh,  which  he  finally 
exchanged  for  a  more  salubrious  and  commodious  spot  at 
Brompton.  This  last  garden  he  continued  to  cultivate  till 
his  death. 

Mr.  Curtis  was  very  early  led  to  combine  the  study  of 
insects  and  their  metamorphoses  with  that  of  plants,  and 
his  various  gardens  were  furnished  with  accommodations 
tor  this  pursuit.  Hence  he  became  an  author ;  his  first 
publication  being  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Instructions  for 
collecting  and  preserving  Insects  ;  particularly  Moths  and 
Butterflies,  illustrated  with  a  copper  plate,"  printed  in  1771. 
In  the  following  year  he  published  a  translation  of  the 
*'  Fundamenta  Entomolooise"  of  Linnaeus,  entitled  "  An 
Introduction  to  the  Knowledge  of  Insects,"  many  valuable 
additions  being  subjoined  to  the  original  treatise.  These 
two  pamphlets  have  contributed  more  than  any  similar  works, 
to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  scientific  entomology  in  En£:land, 
and  to  engraft  on  the  illiterate  illiberal  stock  of  mere  collec- 
tors, a  race  of  enlightened  and  communicative  observers  of 
nature;  who  no  longer  hoard  up  unique  sjjecimens,  and  sel- 
fish acquisitions,  but  contribute  their  discoveries  and  their 
experience  for  the  benefit  of  the  agriculturist,  the  manu- 
facturer, or  the  physician. 

The  celebrity  which  these  publications  procured  for  their 
author,  was  soon  altogether  eclipsed  by  what  arose  from 
his  botanical  labours,  which  have  placed  him  in  the  very 
first  rank  of  English  writers  in  that  department  of  science. 
In  1777  appeared  the  first  number  of  his  "  Flora  Londi- 
uensis,"  containing  six  folio  plates,  with  a  page  or  more 
lof  letter-press,  consisting  of  a  description  in  Latin  and 
English,  with  synonyms  of  each  plant,  and  copious  remarks 
on  its  history,  uses,  qualities,  and  the  insects  it  nourishes. 
Each  number  was  sold  at  half  a  crown  plain,  five  shillings 
coloured  ;  and  some  copie?,  finished  with  extraordinary 
care,  were  sold  at  seven  shillings  and  six-pence.  The 
iirst  artist  employed  in  making  the  drawings  for  this  work, 
was  Mr.  Kilburn,  who  used  a  camera  obscura  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  his  sketches  were  shaded  with  Indian  ink,  before 
the  colours  were  laid  on.  The  performances  of  this  artist 
have  not  been  excelled  in  any  similar  work.     When  from 


17-S  CURTIS. 

other  engagements,  Mr.  Kilbiirn  was  obliged  to  relinquish 
his  task,  Mr.  Sowerby  was  employed,  and  maintained  undi- 
minished  the  perfection  of  the  figures.     After   him,   Mr. 
Sydenham    Edwards  was    engaged  by  Mr.  Curtis,  with  no 
less  credit,  both  in  this  publication  and  the  "  Botanical  Ma- 
gazine" hereafter  mentioned.     Of  the  plates  of  the  "  Flora 
Londinensis"  too  much  cannot  be  said  ;  their  beauty  and 
botanical  accurac}-  are  alike  eminent,  and   it  is  only  to  be 
regretted  that  the  manufactory  of  paper,   as  well  as  the  ty- 
pographical art,  were  in  so  degraded  a  state  when   this 
book  first  appeared.     For  this  its  author  cannot  be  respon- 
sible, nor  are  these  defects  of  any  moment  in  the  eyes  of 
learned  or  scientific  readers,  to  whom   the  work  in  ques- 
tion, independent  of  its  excellent   figures,  ranks  ne.xt  to 
Ray's    Synopsis,    in    original    merit    and    authority    upon 
Enghsh  plants.     It  may  be  added,  that  the  works  of  Curtis 
have  tended,  more  than  any  other  publications  of  their  day, 
to  give  that  tone  of  urbanity  and  liberality  to  the  science, 
which  every  subsequent  writer  of  good  character  has  ob- 
served.    Wherever    their    author  swerved  in   any   degree 
from  this  candour,  which  was  very  seldom,  and   not  per- 
haps without  provocation,  it  was  always  to  his  own  loss ; 
and  he  was  thus   led  into  some   of  the  very  few  mistakes 
tiiat  he  has  committed. 

The  *'  Fl-ora  Londinensis"  was  extended  to  six  fasciculi^ 
of  seventy-two  plates  each,  and  ten  years  after  the  begin- 
ning of  it,  Mr.  Curtis  undertook  a  new  publication,  the 
*'  Botanical  Magazine,"  a  work  whose,  sale  has  been  ex- 
tensive beyond  all  former  example,  and  which  is  in  every 
respect  worthy  of  its  author.  No  book  has  more  diffused 
a  taste  for  unsophisticated  nature  and  science.  It  rewarded 
its  contriver  with  pecuniary  emolument  as  well  as  with 
merited  celebrity,  and  is  still  continued  with  unabated  utility. 
It  is  designed  to  be  a  general  repository  of  garden  plants, 
whether  [)reviously  figured  or  not  in  other  works,  but  it 
has  often  had  the  advantage  of  giving  entire  novelties  to 
the  public. 

In  1782,  Mr.  Curtis  published  a  history  of  the  brown- 
tailed  moth,  an  insect  confounded  by  Linnicus  under  his 
Phalaena  Chrysorrhoea.  Tlie  design  of  this  pamphlet  was 
to  allay  the  alarm  which  had  been  excited  in  the  country 
round  the  metropolis,  by  an  extraordinary  abundance  of 
the  caterpillars  of  this  moth,  and  which  svas  so  great,  that 


CURTIS.  177 

the  parish  officers  oflered  rewards  for  collecting  these  cater- 
pillars, and  attended  in  form  to  see  them  burnt  by  bushels  at 
a  time.  It  was  one  of  those  popular  alarms  which  every  now 
and  then  arise  amonsc  the  ignorant  multitude,  and  which 
vanish  before  the  first  ray  of  common  sense.  When  the 
natural  liistory  of  the  insect  was  inquired  into,  and  com- 
pared with  that  of  otiiers,  no  cause  for  any  great  appre- 
hension could  be  discerned ;  and  indeed  the  subsequent 
years  were  not  more  abundant  in  this  species  than  usual. 

Besides  the  above  works,  Mr.  Curtis  published  "  Prac- 
tical Observations  on  the  British  Grasses,"  in  8vo;  his 
truly  praise-worthy  aim  being  to  direct  the  farmer  to  a 
knowledge  and  discrimination  of  the  species  and  their  qua- 
lities. He  also  from  time  to  time  printed  catalogues  of 
his  garden.  He  was  induced,  by  the  unfortunate  alarnn. 
which  he  conceived  at  the  publication  of"  English  Botany,'* 
an  apparently  rival  work,  to  put  forth  diminished  figures 
in  8vo,  of  his  great  Flora  ;  but  these  met  with  no  appro- 
bation nor  success,  and  were  soon  discontinued.  His 
*'  Lectures  on  Botany,"  rendered  needlessly  expensive  by 
superfluous  coloured  plates,  have  appeared  since  his  death; 
but  for  this  publication  he  is  not  responsible.  Two  admi- 
rable entomological  papers  of  Mr.  Curtis  are  found  in  the 
"  Transactions  of  the  Linnean  Society  •"  of  which  society 
he  was  one  of  the  original  fellows.  The  first  of  these  is  an 
account  of  the  Silpha  Grisea,  and  Curculio  Lapathi,  two 
coleopterous  insects  very  destructive  to  willows.  The 
other  paper  is  intended  to  shew  that  the  Aphides,  or  lice 
of  plants,  are  "  the  sole  cause  of  the  honev-dew,"  a  new 
theory  on  the  subject,  and  perfectly  just,  as  far  as  con- 
cerns the  most  common  kind  of  honey-dew.  This  paper 
was  digested  by  the  president  from  the  unfinished  materials 
of- its  author,  and  communicated  to  the  society  after  his 
death,  which  happened  on  the  7th  of  July,  1799,  after  he 
had  for  near  a  twelvemonth  laboured  under  a  disease  in  the 
chest,  supposed  to  be  of  a  dropsical  n.'.ture  ;  but  which 
was  rather,  perhaps,  an  organic  aHection  of  the  heart,  or 
of  the  great  vessels  immediately  connected  with  it.  His 
remains  were  interred  at  Battersea  church.  He  left  be- 
hind him  the  character  of  an  honest  friendly  man,  a  lively 
and  entertaining  companion,  and  a  good  master.  He  was 
ever  I'eady  to  encouage  and  assist  beginnet^j  in  his  fa- 
vourite science,  and  always  endeavoured  to  render  that 
science  as  attractive  as  possibie.     It  must  not  be  forgotiea 

Vol.  XL  N 


17«  CURTIS. 

that  he  was  one  of  the  first,  who,  in  spite  of  authority, 
Contributed  to  remove  some  reproaches  to  which  it  was» 
justly  liable,  on  the  score  of  indelicacy.  This  last  praise 
is  justly  paid  to  Mr.  Curtis  by  an  excellent  and  very  erai- 
iien^t  friend,  who  has  given  the  world  a  history  of  his  life 
and  merits  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1799,  whence 
we  have  derived  many  of  the  above  particulars.' 

CURTIUS  (Cornelius),  a  native  of  Brussels,  where 
he  was  born  in  1586,  became  a  monk  of  the  Augustine 
order,  and  rose  to  honours  and  high  official  situations  among 
his  order;  being  prefect  of  the  schools  of  Brussels  and 
Louvaine,  a  provincial  of  various  convents,  and  counsellor 
and  historiographer  to  the  emperor  of  Germany.  He  had 
the  character  of  a  man  of  extensive  learning  and  piety,  the 
latter  carried  sometimes  to  the  minutiae  of  superstition,  as 
appears  by  his  work  "  De  Clavis  Dominicis,"  of  which 
there  are  three  editions,  1622,  1632,  and  1670:  in  this 
he  gravelj'  discusses  whether  our  Saviour  was  fixed  to  the 
cross  with  three  nails  or  four?  and  decides  in  favour  of  the 
latter  number.  His  more  valuable  works  are:  1.  "  Vitae 
S.  S.  Ruperti  et  Virgilii,"  Ingolstadt,  1622.  2.  "  Epis- 
tolas  familiares,"  ibid.  1621.  3.  *' Poematum  libri  tres," 
Ant.  1629,  12mo.  4.  *' Amphitheatrum  amoruni,  Christ, 
fonseca  auotore,  Curtio  interprete,"  Ingolstadt,  1623, 
8vo.  $.  "  Quadragesimale"  by  Fonseca,  translated  from 
the  Spanish  into  Latin,  Cologn.  6.  *' Vit?e  quinque  Vir- 
ginum  Augustiniarura,"  ibid.  1636.  7.  "  Elogia  virorum 
illustrium  Ord.  Eremit.  S.  Augustini,"  with  engraven  por- 
traits, Antwerp,  1636,  4to.  8.  "Vita  S.  Nicolai  Tolen- 
tinatis,"  with  tlie  lives  of  other  Augustines,  ibid.  1637, 
Ifimo.  He  left  also  some  unfinished  manuscripts.  He 
died  in  Oct.  1638.=* 

CURTIUS  (Michael  Conrad),  professor  of  history  {ind 
rhetoric  at  Marpurg,  was  born  Aug.  18,  1724,  at  Techen- 
tin,  in  the  duchy  of  Mecklenburg,  of  which  place  his 
father- was  minister.  After  his  decease,  his  mother  mar- 
ried his  successor,  John  Frederic  Aepin  ;  and  it  was  from 
him  that  her  son's  mind  received  its  first  cultivation.  He 
was  then  placed  in  the  schools  at  Parchim  and  Schwerin, 
and  in  1742  repaired  to  the  university  of  Rostock.  Having 
comj)leted  his  academical   studies,   he  accepted  the  situa- 

»  Gent.  Map.  vol.  LXIX.  p.  6'28,  635,  methodized  in  Rees's  Cyclopadit. 
•  Fttppeo  iJibl.  B'.lg, — .Mwreri.— Cteuicnt  Bibl.  Curieu»f. — Saxij  Ouvsasft. 


C  U  R  T  I  U  S.  179 

tion  of  private  tutor  in  the  family  of  the  superintendant 
Paul   Rehfeld,  of  Stralsund.      Here   he  remained   till  the 
minister  of  state,  baron  von  Schwicheldt,  of  Hanover,  be- 
came acquainted  with   him,  and  entrusted  him   with  the 
education  of  his  children.     That  gentleman  gave  Curtius 
many  proofs  of  the  regard  he  entertained  for  him.    Among 
other  things,   during  the  seven  years'  war,  at  a  time  when 
he  himself  was  overwhelmed  with  business,  he  once  charged 
Curtius  with  an  important  commission  to  the  duke  of  Bruns- 
wick,  who  then  commanded  the  allied  army.     He  likewise 
gained  the  entire  confidence  of  that  excellent  minister, 
the  baron  von  Miinchhausen,   who  had  become  acquainted 
with  him  by  means  of  Schwicheldt.      He  held  his  situation 
in  the  house  of  the  latter  till  1759,  when  he  was  appointed 
regular  professor  at  the  academy  of  Liineburg,  where  he 
taught   logic,   metaphysics,  history,   &c.     In   1767  he  was 
appointed  professor  of  history,    rhetoric,    and  poetry,    at 
Marburg,  and  about  this  time  published  his  "  Commentarii 
de   Senatu   Romano,    sub   imperatoribus,   &c."     In    1769, 
he  also  published  a  translation  of  Columella  on  agriculture, 
with  notes. 

In  1758  he  was  invested  with  the  dignitj'  of  privy-coun- 
sellor; and  in  1795  became  principal  of  the  faculty  of  phi- 
losophy.    He  twice  held  the   office  of  pro-rector  of  the 
university,  in  which  he  gave  universal  satisfaction.     During 
a  period  of  thirty-four  years,  he  taught,  with  indefatigable 
diligence,  all  the  branches  of  history,  statistics,  and  geo- 
graphy- ;    explained   the   Roman  antiquities,  the  imitative 
arts,  natural  and  experimental  philosophy,  rural  economy, 
&c.  and  gave  introductory  lessons  on  the  formation  of  a 
good  Latin  style.     At  the  same  time,  he  fulfilled  all  his 
other  college-duties  with  the  most  scrupulous  fidelity,  till 
the  few  last  weeks  of  his  active  life.      His  health  was  to- 
lerably good,  excepting  that  he  was  sometimes  attacked 
with  a  paralytic  affection,  aud  symptoms  of  the  stone.     la 
the  spring  of  1802,  his  constitution  began  to  break ;  and, 
notwithstanding  all  the  attention  of  his  friend  and  phy- 
sician, Michaelis,  his  health  declined  rapidly.     In  the  last 
twelve  or  fourteen  days  of  his  life,  his  memory  was  con- 
siderably  impaired.      He    had    been    particularly   distin- 
guished by  the  strength  of  that  faculty  ;  and  has  frequently 
been  known  to  write  down  in   his   lectures,  whole  tables, 
containing  dates  of  years,  and  other  figures,  merely  from 
recollection,  and  without  a  single  error.     This  alteration^ 

N  2, 


180  C  U  R  T  I  U  S. 

and  the  anxiety  lie  felt  because  he  was  preventecl  from  at- 
tending his  official  duties,  preyed  on  his  mind,  and  weak-* 
ened  him  more  than  his  disorder.  On  the  22d  of  August^ 
1802,  this  venerable  man  expired,  aged  seventy-eight  years 
arid  four  days. 

Curtius  was  a  man  of  the  most  extensive  and  various  at- 
tainments 5    and   his  career   as  an   author,  an   academical 
teacher,  and  a  man,  tended  only  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  his  fellow  creatures.     His  adopted  country,  Hesse,  was 
particularly  benefited  by  his  history  and  statistics  of  that 
province,  pubHshcd  at  Marburg  in  171*3,  and  by  numerous 
programmas  which  he   drew  up.     By  his  smaller  pieces, 
abounding:  in  critical  investigrations  and  new  views,  he  made 
many  an  important  accession  to  the  history  of  other  Eui'o- 
pean   states,    and   to  literature    in   general.      His  labours 
were  Ions:  and  meritorious :  he  could  rejoice  over  then)  at 
the  termination  of  iiis  career,  and  could  behold  with  plea- 
sure many  a  flourishing  plant  of  his  own  cultivation.     All 
his  fellow-citizens  gave  him  the  testimony  that  he  was  a 
learned  and  rigidly  upright  man,  religious  in  the  most  ex- 
alted sense  of  the  word,  just  and  benevolent,  open  and 
undisguised.     His  calm,  peaceful,  and  tranquil  lite  ;    his 
indefatigable  attention  to  his  duties,   without  ostentation  ; 
his  manly  spirit,  which  equally  disdained  artifice  and  base 
submissnon,  deserve  to  be  held  forth  as  patterns  for  imi- 
tation.* 

CURTIUS  (QuiNTUs),  is  the  name,  or  assumed  name^ 
of  a  Latin  historian,  who  has  written  the  actions  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  in  ten  books  ;  the  two  first  of  which  are 
indeed  not  extant,  but  yet  are  so  well  supplied  by  Frein- 
shemius,  as  to  be  thought  equal  to  the  others.  Where 
this  author  was  born,  and  when  he  lived,  are  disputed 
points  among  the  learned,  and  never  likely  to  be  settled. 
Some  have  fancied,  from  the  elegant  style  of  his  history, 
that  he  must  have  lived  in  or  near  the  Augustan  age ;  but 
there  are  no  explicit  testimonies  to  confirm  this  opinion  5 
and  a  judgment  formed  upon  the  single  circumstance  of 
style  wiil  always  be  found  precarious.  Others  place  hini 
in  the  reign  of  Vespasian,  and  others  have  brought  him 
down  so  low  as  to  Trajan's  :  Gibbon  is  inclined  to  place 
him  in  the  time  of  Gordiau,  in  the  middle  of  the  third 
cciiiury  ;  and  some  have  imagined  that  the  name  of  Quintus 

'  Monthly  Magazine, — Saxii  Ouomasticon,  vol.  VIII, 


C  U  R  T  I  U  S.  .181 

Curtius  was  forged  by  an  Italian,  who  composed  that  his- 
tory, or  romance  as  it  has  been  called,  about  three  hundred 
years  ago  ;  yet  why  so  good  a  Latin  writer,  who  might  have 
gained  tiie  reputationof  the  lirst  Latin  scholar  of  his  time, 
should  have  been  willing  to  sacrifice  his  glory  to  that  of  an 
imaginary  Quintus  Curtius,  is  a  question  yet  to  be  re- 
solved. On  the  other  hand  it  is  certain  that  Quintus  Cur- 
tius  was  ati  admired  historian  of  the  romantic  ages.  He  is 
quoted  in  the  "  Policraticon"  of  John  of  Salisbury,  who 
died  ill  the  year  1181;  and  Peter  Blesensis,  archdeacon  of 
London,  a  student  at  Paris,  about  1150,  mentioning  the 
books  most  common  in  the  schools,  declares  that  "  he  pro- 
fited much  by  frequently  looking  into  this  author."  All 
this  is  decidedly  against  the  opinion  that  Quintus  Curtiu. 
is  a  forgery  of  only  three  hundred  years  old. 

Cardinal  du  Perron  was  so  ^reat  an  admirer  of  this  his- 
torian,  that  he  declared  one  page  of  him  to  be  worth  thirty 
ot  Tacitus.  This  extiavagant  admiration,  however,  may 
be  somewhat  abated  by  a  view  of  what  Le  Clerc  has  written 
about  this  author,  at  the  end  of  his  book  upon  the  art  of 
of  criticism  ;  in  which  are  manifestly  shewn  several  great 
faults  in  him,  ignorance  of  astronomy  and  geography,  con- 
tradictions, erroneous  descriptions,  bad  taste  in  the  choice 
of  matter,  carelessness  in  dating  the  events,  kc. ;  though 
perhaps,  as  Bayle  rightly  observes,  the  greatest  part  of 
those  faults  might  be  found  in  most  ancient  historians,  if 
one  would  take  the  pains,  or  had  the  opportunity,  to  cri- 
ticise them  severely.  He  has  nevertheless  many  qualities 
as  a  writer,  which  will  always  make  him  admired  and  ap- 
plauded ;  and  notwithstanding  the  censures  of  some  critics, 
this  historian  deserves  to  be  commended  for  his  sincerity, 
for  he  speaks  the  good  and  the  bad  of  his  hero,  without 
the  least  prepossession  of  his  merit.  If  any  fault  is  to  be 
found  with  his  history,  it  is  for  being  too  highly  polished. 

There  is  a  singular  anecdote,  relating  to  this  historian, 
preserved  of  Alphonso  king  of  Naples,  which  may  be 
mentioned  as  another  proof  of  what  we  have  advanced 
above,  respecting  the  forgery  of  Quintus  Curtius.  This 
prince,  who  lived  in  the  thirteenth  century,  labouring  under 
an  indisposition  at  Capua,  from  which  none  of  his  physi- 
cians could  relieve  him,  every  one  strove  to  bring  him 
such  things  as  they  thought  would  divert  him  best.  An- 
tonius  Panormita  made  choice  of  books,  and  among  the 
rest,  the  history  of  Alexander,  by  Quintus  Curtius.     To 


182  C  U  H  T  I  U"  S. 

this  the  prince  listened  very  attentively,  and  was  so  ex- 
tremely pleased  with  it,  tbat  he  almost  entirely  recovered 
the  very  first  day  it  was  read  to  him.  Upon  which  occa- 
sion he  could  not  help  rallying  his  physicians,  and  telling 
them,  that  whatever  they  might  think  of  their  Hippocrates 
and  their  Avicenna,  Quintus  Curtius  was  worth  a  thousand 
of  them. 

The  first  edition  of  this  author  was  printed  in  1 470.  The 
best  editions  of  more  modern  date,  are  the  Elzevir,  12mo, 
1633  and  1653  ;  Freinsheim's,  1640,  2  vols.  8vo,  and  those 
of  Rapp,  1640,  4to;  Cellarius,  1688-91-96,  12mo,  and  Sna* 
kenburg,  1724,  4to.  We  have  a  very  old  E'.iglish  translation 
by  John  Brende,  dated  1561  ;  a  second  by  Codrington, 
1670;  and  a  third  more  modern,  by  Digby,  2  vols.  12mo.* 

CUSA  (Nicholas  de),  a  cardinal,  so  called  from  Cusa, 
the  place  of  his  birth,  was  born  in  1401.  His  parents  were 
mean  and  poor;  and  it  was  his  own  personal  merit  which 
raised  him  to  the  height  of  dignity  he  afterwards  attained. 
He  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  parts  and  learning,  particu- 
larly famous  for  his  vast  knowledge  in  law  and  divinity, 
and  a  great  natural  philosopher  and  geometrician.  Ni- 
cholas V.  made  him  a  cardinal  by  the  title  of  St.  Peter  ad 
vincula,  in  1448  ;  and  two  years  after,  bishop  of  Brixia, 
In  1451  he  was  sent  legate  into  Germany,  to  preach  the 
crusade,  but  not  succeeding  in  this  attempt,  he  performed 
the  more  meritorious  service  of  reforming  some  monasteries 
which  he  visited,  and  of  establishing  some  new  rules  re- 
lating to  ecclesiastical  discipline.  He  returned  to  Rome 
under  Calixtus  III.  and  afterwards  was  made  governor  of  it 
by  Pius  II.  during  his  absence  at  Mantua,  where  he  was 
chief  concerter  and  manaojer  of  the  war  against  the  Turks, 

-1.1  ^  ^ 

He  died  at  Todi,  a  city  of  Umbria,  in  1464,  aged  sixty- 
three  years.  His  body  was  interred  at  Rome  ;  but  his 
heart,  it  is  said,  was  carried  to  a  church  belonging  to  the 
hospital  of  St.  Nicholas,  which  he  had  founded  near  Cusa, 
and  where  he  collected  a  most  noble  and  ample  library  of 
Greek  and  Latin  authors.  He  left  many  excellent  works 
behind  him,  which  were  printed  in  three  volumes  at  Basil, 
in  1565.  The  first  volume  contains  all  his  metaphysical 
tracts,  in  which  he  is  very  abstruse  and  profound  ;  the 
second,  his  controversial  pieces,  and  others  which  relate 

'  Geii.  Diet,  in  art.  Quintus.— Moieri.—Warton's  Hist,  of  Poetry,— SaxiJ 
OttoinaEt. 


C  U  R  T  I  U  S,  183 

to  the  discipline  of  the  church  ;  the  third,  his  mathema- 
tical, geographical,  and  astronomical  works.  It  is  said  of 
Cusa,  that  before  1)0  was  made  a  cardinal,  he  had  taken 
the  freedom  to  reprehend  some  errors  and  misdemeanours 
in  the  pope;  and  there  are  some  instances  in  his  works, 
where  he  has  made  no  scruple  to  detect  and  expose  the 
lying  sophistries  and  false  traditions  of  his  church.  In  his 
piece  entitled  "  Catholic  Concord,"  he  has  acknowledged 
the  vanity  and  groundlessness  of  that  famous  donation  of 
Constantine  the  Great  to  Sylvester,  bishop  of  Rome.  He 
gained  considerable  reputation  by  his  *'  Cribratio  Alcorani." 
The  Turks  had  taken  Constantmople  in  145  3,  which 
seems  to  have  given  occasion  to  his  writing  this  book,  by 
way  of  antidoie,  as  he  proposed  it,  to  the  doctrines  of  thff 
Koran,  which  were  now  in  so  fair  a  way  of  being  spread 
through  the  western  parts  of  the  world.  It  appears  by  the 
dedication,  that  it  was  not  written  till  after  the  loss  of  that 
city  ;  being  inscribed  to  Pius  II.  who  did  not  enter  on 
the  papacy  till  the  Turks  had  been  about  three  years  iti' 
possession  of  it.  It  is  a  very  learned  and  judicious  per- 
formance.' 

CUSPINIAN  (John),  whose  German  name  was  Speis-' 
HAMMER,  an  eminent  historian,  was  boin  in  1473,  at 
Sweinfurt,  in  Franconia,  a[)d  became  distinguished  as  a 
philosopher,  historian,  orator,  poet,  and  physician,  although 
his  historical  works  only  have  survi\ed.  He  was  educated- 
at  Vienna,  where  his  studies  were  confined  to  medicine 
and  poetry,  and  soon  became  in  high  favour  with  the  em- 
peror Maximilian  I.  who  made  him  his  librarian,  and  after- 
wards employed  him  in  various  important  negociations  in 
Hungary,  Bohemia,  and  Poland,  and  for  many  years  admit- 
ted him  to  his  presence  as  a  confidential  adviser,  and  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  the  senate  of  Vienna.  When  Cuspinian; 
meditated  his  historical  writings,  the  emperor  ordered  the 
libraries  and  archives  to  be  thrown  open  to  him.  He  died 
in  1529.  His  biographer,  Gerbelius,  describes  him  as  a 
man  of  elegant  person,  address,  and  manners;  and  his- 
works  attest  his  learning  and  diligence  in  historical  researclu 
In  this  branch  he  wrote  :  1.  "  De  Ciusaribus  et  Imperato- 
ribus  RoQianorum,"  1j19,  fol. ;  reprinted  at  Strasbingh, 
1540;    Basil,  by   Oporinus,    1561,    and   Francfort,     1601. 

..  '  Moreri  in  art.  Nicholas. — Frfcheri  Tbeatrum. — Blount's  Censura. — Cave.— 
Saxii  OnomaEt. 


184  C  U  S  P  I  N  I  A  N. 

2.  "  Austria,  sive  Commentarius  de  rebus  Austriae  Mar- 
chionum,  Ducum,  &c."  Basil,  1553,  fol.  ;   Francf'ort,  1601. 

3.  "  Commonefactio  ad  Leoiiem  X.  papam,  ad  Carolum  V. 
imperatorem,  &c  de  Constantinopoli  capta  a  Turcis,  &c." 
Leipsic,  1596,  4to.  4.  *' Commentarius  in  Sexti  Rufi  li- 
bellurn  de  regia,  consulari,  imperialique  dignitate,  &c.'* 
Basil,  1553,  fol.  with  his  life  by  Gerbelius,  reprinted  at 
Francfort,  1601,  fol.  5.  "  De  origine  Turcorum,"  Ant- 
werp, 1541,  8vo.  6.  "  Patiegyrici  variorum  Auctorum,'* 
Vienna,    1513.' 

CUTHBERT  (St.)  was  born  in  the  north  of  England, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  and  educated  under 
the  Scottish  monks  in  the  famous  abbey  of  1' col  nihil  I,  ce- 
lebrated for  having  been  the  seat  of  learning  for  British 
and  Irish  monks  in  that  age.  The  Scottish  and  Irish  monks 
were  then  stimulated  by  the  fervency  of  pious  zeal  to  con- 
vert the  pagan  Saxons  to  the  Christian  religion,  and  for 
that  purpose  Cuthbert  with  some  others  settled  in  the 
island  of  Lindisferne,  about  four  miles  from  Berwick.  Eg- 
fred,  king  of  Northumberland,  invited  Cuthbert  to  his 
court,  where  he  converted  and  baptized  many  of  his  nobles, 
and  acquired  such  reputation,  that  he  received  episcopal 
ordination  at  York,  as  bishop  of  the  Northumbrian  Saxons. 
But  his  love  of  solitude  induced  him  to  return  to  Lindis- 
ferne, since  called  Holy-island,  where  he  founded  a  mo- 
nastery, the  remains  of  which  are  yet  to  be  seen.  There 
he  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  died  in  the  year  686,  leaving 
behind  him  a  great  number  of  disciples.  Whatever  may 
be  said  of  those  zealous  monkish  saints  who  lived  from  the 
fifth  to  the  eighth  century,  it  is  certain  they  were  better 
men  than  their  successors  have  represented  them.  They 
never  pretended  to  work  miracles,  but  the  latter  monks 
have  made  them  perform  manv,  even  after  their  deaths. 
There  can  remain  little  doubt  but  Cuthbert  was  interred 
in  Holy-island,  where  he  resigned  his  breath;  but  the 
monks,  ever  fertile  at  invention,  have  told  us  many  ridi- 
culous stories  concerning  him.  They  say  that  he  was  first 
buried  at  Norhan),  in  Northumberland  ;  but,  not  relishing 
the  damp  situation,  he  appeared  in  person  to  his  monks, 
and  desired  them  to  carry  his  bones  to  Melrose,  ahout 
twenty  miles  farther  up  the  Tweed.     His  request  was  com- 

•  Prfiheri  Theatrum.— Blount's    Censura.— Melchior  Adam.— Fabric.  Bibl, 
Med.  et  Inf.  iEiat. — Saxii  Onomast. 


C  U  T  H  B  E  R  T.  185 

plied  with  ;  but  Melrose  not  being  agreeable  to  him,  he 
again  appeared  to  his  monks,  and  desired  them  to  put  him 
into  a  stone  boat,  and  sail  with  him  dovvn  the  Tweed  to 
'I'ihnouth,  where  he  rested  some  years.  The  stone  boat 
was  left  with  a  farmer,  wiio  made  it  a  tub  for  pickhng  beef 
in,  which  enraged  St.  Cuthbert  so  much,  that  he  came  in 
the  niglit-time  and  broke  it  in  pieces.  The  monks,  al- 
though almost  tired  with  carrying  ilie  saint  so  often,  were 
obliged  to  travel  with  him  once  more,  and  rested  at  Ches- 
ter ;  but  that  place  not  being  agreeable,  they  carried  him 
to  Durham,  wliere  his  bones  rested  in  peace  till  the  time 
of  the  retormation,  when  the  wife  of  Dr.  Whittingham, 
then  dean  ot  that  church,  and  one  of  the  translators  of  the 
psalms  ascribed  to  Siernhold  and  Hopkins,  ordered  them 
to  be  taken  up  and  thrown  upon  a  dunghill.* 

CUTTS  (John  Lord),  a  brave  officer  in  king  William's 
wars,  was  a  younger  son  of  Richard  Cutts,  esq.  of  an 
ancient  and  distinguished  family,  settled  about  the  time  of 
Henry  VI.  at  Matching  in  Essex,  where  they  had  consider- 
able property.  His  father  removed  to  Childerley  in  Cam- 
bridgeshire, to  take  possession  of  a  good  estate  given  him 
by  sir  John  Cutts,  hart,  who  died  without  issue.  This, 
estate,  after  the  decease  of  an  elder  brother,  devolved  on 
John  ;  who  sold  it,  to  pay  incumbrances,  to  equip  himself 
as  a  soldier,  and  to  enable  hmiself  to  travel.  After  an 
academical  education  at  Cambridge,  he  entered  early  into 
the  service  of  the  duke  of  Monu)outh,  and  afterwards  was 
aid-de-camp  to  the  duke  of  Lorrain  in  Hungary,  and  sig- 
nalized himself  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner  at  the 
taking  of  Buda  by  the  imperialists  in  1686;  which  impor- 
tant place  had  been  for  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  in  the 
hands  of  the  Turks  Mr.  Addison,  in  a  Latin  poem,  not 
unworthy  of  the  Augustan  age,  plainly  hints  at  Mr.  Cutts's 
distinguished  bravery  at  that  siege.  He  was  afterwards 
colonel  of  a  regiment  in  Holland  under  the  States,  and  ac- 
companied king  William  to  Kngland,  who  "  being  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  confer  a  mark  of  his  royal  favour  upon 
colonel  John  Cutts,  for  his  faithful  services,  and  zealous 
affection  to  his  royal  person  and  y;overnment,  thought  fit 
to  create  hnn  a  baron  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  by  the 
style  and  title  of  iiaron  Cutts  of  Gowran  in  the  said  king- 

'  Last  edition  of  this  Dirt. — Butltr's   Lives  of  the   Saints,   and  Biitanni* 
Sancta.— Mackenzie's  Scotch  Writers,  toI.  1.  p.  337. 


1S6  C  U  T  T  S. 

dom,  December  6,  1690."  He  was  appointed  governor  of 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  April  14,  1693  ;  made  a  major-general  j 
and,  when  the  assassination-project  was  discovered,  1695-6, 
was  captain  of  the  king's  guard.  He  was  twice  married  ; 
first  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George  Clark  of  London, 
merchant  (relict  of  John  Morley,  of  Glynd,  in  Sussex,  and 
after,  of  John  Trevor,  esq.  eldest  brother  to  the  first  lord 
Trevor).  This  lady  died  in  Feb.  1692.  His  second  wife, 
jan  amiable  young  woman,  was  educated  under  the  care  of 
her  grandmother,  the  lady  Pickering,  of  Cambridgeshire. 
She  was  brought  to  bed  of  a  son,  September  1,  1697,  and 
died  in  a  few  days  after,  aged  only  1 8  years  and  as  many 
days.  Her  character  has  been  admirably  delineated  by 
bishop  Atterbury,  in  the  dedication  to  a  sermon  he 
preached  on  occasion  of  her  death. 

In  1695,  and  the  three  following  parliaments,  lord  Cutts 
was  regularly  elected  one  of  the  representatives  both  for 
the  county  of  Cambridge,  and  for  the  borough  of  New* 
port  in  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  but  made  his  election  for  the 
former.  In  two  parliaments  which  followed  (1702  and 
1705)  he  represented  Newport.  In  1698  he  was  compli- 
mented by  Mr.  John  Hopkins,  as  one  to  whom  "  a  double 
crown  was  due,"  as  a  hero  and  as  a  poet.  In  1699,  he  is 
thus  introduced  in  a  compliment  to  king  William  on  his 
conquests : 

"  The  warlike  Cutts  the  welcome  tidings  brings. 
The  true  brave  servant  of  the  best  of  kings  j 
Cutts,  whose  known  worth  no  herald  needs  proclaim. 
His  wounds  and  his  own  worth  can  speak  his  fame." 

He  was  colonel  of  the  Coldstream,  or  second  regiment  of 
guards,  in  1701  ;  when  Steele,  who  was  indebted  to  his 
interest  for  a  captain's  commission  in  the  lord  Lucas's  regi- 
ment of  fusileers,  inscribed  to  him  his  first  work,  "  The 
Christian  Hero,"  On  the  accession  of  queen  Anne,  he 
was  made  a  lieutenant-general  of  the  forces  in  Holland. 
February  13,  1702-3,  he  was  appointed  commander  in 
chief  of  the  English  forces  on  the  continent,  during  the 
absence  of  the  duke  of  Marlborough  ;  commander  in  chief 
of  the  forces  in  Ireland,  under  the  duke  of  Ormond,  March 
23,  170'l'-5;  and  afterwards  one  of  the  lords  justices  of 
that  kingdom,  to  keep  him  out  of  the  way  of  action,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  broke  his  heart.  He  died  at  Dublin, 
Jan.  26,   1706-7,  and  was  buried  there  on  the  29th,  in  the 


C  U  T  T  S.  187 

cathedral  of  Christ-church.  He  was  a  person  of  eminent 
natural  parts,  well  cultivated  hy  study  and  conversation  ; 
of  a  free,  unreserved  temper;  and  of  undaunted  braveiy 
and  resolution.  As  he  was  a  servant  to  queen  Mary  when 
princess  of  Orange,  and  learned  the  trade  of  war  under  her 
consort,  he  was  early  devoted  to  them  both,  and  a  warm 
supporter  of  the  revolution.  He  was  an  absolute  stranger 
to  fear;  and  on  all  occasions  gave  distinguishing  proofs  of 
his  intrepidity,  particularly  at  the  siege  of  Limerick  in 
1691,  at  the  meu)orable  attack  of  the  castle  of  Namur  in 
1695,  and  at  the  siege  of  Venio  in  1702.  Macky  says  of 
him,  in  1703  :  "  He  hath  abundance  of  wit,  but  too  much 
seized  with  vanity  and  self-conceit ;  he  is  affable,  familiar, 
and  very  brave.  Few  considerable  actions  happened  in 
this  as  well  as  the  last  war,  in  which  he  was  not,  and  hath 
been  wounded  in  all  tlie  actions  where  he  served  ;  is  es- 
teemed to  be  a  mighty  vigilant  officer,  and  for  putting  the 
military  orders  in  execution  ;  he  is  pretty  tall,  lusty,  well- 
shaped,  and  an  agreeable  companion  ;  hath  great  revenues, 
yet  so  very  expensive,  as  always  to  be  in  debt ;  towards 
fifty  years  old."  Swift,  in  a  MS  note  on  the  above  pas- 
sage, with  his  usual  laconic  cruelty,  calls  lord  Cutts, 
*'  The  vainest  old  fool  alive."  He  wrote  a  poem  on  the 
death  of  queen  Mary  ;  and  published  in  1687,  "  Poetical 
Exercises,  written  upon  several  occasions,  and  dedicated 
to  her  Royal  Highness  Mary  Princess  of  Orange  ;  licensed 
March  23,  1686-7,  Roger  L'Estrange."  It  contains,  be- 
sides the  dedication  signed  "J.  Cutts,"  verses  to  that  prin- 
cess ;  a  poem  on  Wisdom  ;  another  to  Mr.  Waller  on  his 
commending  it;  seven  more  copies  of  verses  (one  of  them 
called  "  La  Muse  Cavalier,"  which  had  been  ascribed  to 
lord  Peterborough,  and  as  such  mentioned  by  Mr.  Walpole 
in  the  list  of  that  nobleman's  writings),  and  eleven  songs  ; 
the  whole  composing  a  very  thin  volume,  which  is  by  no 
means  so  scarce  as  Mr.  Walpole  supposes  it  to  be.  The 
author  speaks  of  having  more  pieces  by  him.^ 

CYNEAS,  originally  of  Thessaly,  the  disciple  of  De- 
mosthenes and  minister  of  Pyrrhus,  equally  celebrated  as 
a  philosopher  and  as  an  orator,  flourished  in  the  125th. 
olympiad,  about  280  B.  C.  Pyrrhus  said  of  him,  "  that 
he  had  taken  more  towns  by  his  eloquence,  than  he  had  by 

'  Biog.  Urit.  for  which  the  life  was  originally  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Nichols.— -See 
also  his  Collection  of  Poems,  and  Atterliury's  Correspondence.— Orfoid's  Royal 
and  Noble  Authors. — Swift's  Woiks,  by  Nichols, 


188  C  Y  N  E  A  S. 

his  arms."  This  prince  sent  him  to  Rome  to  solicit  a 
peace,  which  was  nearly  granted  him,  when  Appius  Clau- 
dius and  Fabricius,  who  were  not  to  moved  by  the  flowers 
of  rhetoric,  influenced  the  senate  to  adopt  other  measures. 
Cyneas,  being  returned  to  the  camp  of  Pyrrhus,  described 
Rome  to  him  as  a  temple,  the  senate  as  an  assembly  of 
kings,  and  the  Roman  people  as  a  hydra,  which  recruited 
its  vigour  as  often  as  it  was  defeated.  Pliny  cites  tlie  me- 
mory of  Cyneas  as  a  prodigy,  at  least  in  remembering  per- 
sons ;  for  the  day  after  his  arrival  at  Rome,  he  saluted  all 
the  senators  and  knights  by  their  several  names.  ,He 
abridged  the  book  of  ^neas  the  tactician,  on  the  defence 
of  places,  which  Casaubon  published  with  a  Latin  version, 
in  the  Paris  edition  of  Polybius,  1609,  folio,  and  M.  de 
Beausobre  translated  it  into  french,  with  comments,  1757, 
4-to.  * 

CYPRIAN  (Thascius  C/ecilius),  a  principal  father  of 
the  Christian  church,  was  born  at  Carthage  in  Africa, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  third  century.  We  know  no- 
thing more  of  his  parents,  than  that  they  were  heathens ; 
and  he  himself  continued  such  till  the  last  twelve  years  of 
his  life.  He  applied  himself  early  to  the  study  of  oratory  ; 
and  some  of  the  ancients,  Lactantius  in  particular,  informs 
us,  that  he  taught  rhetoric  at  Carthage  with  the  highest 
applause.  TertuUian  was  his  master  ;  and  Cyprian  was  so 
fond  of  reading  him,  that,  as  St.  Jerome  tells  us,  seldom  a 
day  passed  without  his  saying  to  his  amanuensis,  *'  Da  ma- 
gistrum,"  Give  me  my  master.  Cyprian,  however,  far 
excelled  TertuUian  as  a  writer. 

In  the  year  2i6  Cyprian  was  prevailed  on  to  embrace 
Christianity,  at  Carthage,  by  Csecilius,  a  priest  of  that 
church,  whose  name  Cyprian  afterwards  took  ;  and  be- 
tween whom  there  ever  after  subsisted  so  close  a  friend- 
ship, that  Ca^cilius  at  his  death  committed  to  Cyprian  the 
care  of  his  family.  Cyprian  was  also  a  married  man  him- 
self; but  as  soon  as  he  became  a  Christian,  he  resolved 
upon  a  state  of  continence,  which  was  thought  a  high  de- 
gree of  piety,  as  being  yet  not  become  general.  This  we 
learn  from  his  deacon  Pontius,  who  has  left  ns  memoirs  of 
his  life,  which  are  prefixed  to  his  works,  but  are  not  so 
ample  in  information  as  might  have  been  expected  from 
one  who  knew  him  so  well.     It  was  now  incumbent  upon 

*  Moreri,  &c. 


CYPRIAN.  189 

him  to  give  the  usual  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  conver- 
sion, by  writing  against  paganism,  and  in  defence  of  Chris- 
tianity.    \Vith  this  view  he  composed  his  piece  '*  De  gra- 
tia Dei,   or,  concerning  the  grace  of  God,"  wiiich  he  ad- 
dressed to  Donatiis.     It  is  a  work  of  the  same  nature  with 
the  Apologetic  of  Tertnllian,  and  the  Octavius  of  Minutius 
FeHx  ;   and  it  is  remarkal)h",  iliat  Cyprian  has  not  only  in- 
sisted upon   the  same  arguments   with  those   writers,  but 
frequently  transcribed  their  words,  those  of  Minutius  Felix 
especially.     In  the  year  247,  the  year  after  his  conversion, 
he  composed    another   piece    upon    the    subject,    entitled 
*'  De  idolorum  vanitate,  or,  upon  the  vanity  of  idols;"  in 
which  he  has  taken  the  same  liberties  with  Tertuliian  and 
Minutius  Felix.      His  Oxford  editor,   bishop  Fell,   endea- 
vours to  excuse  him  from  the  charge  of  plagiarism   upoa 
this   occasion  ;  becaqse,  says  he,  having  the  same  points 
to  treat  as  all  the  apologists  had  before,   namely,  the  truth 
and  excellency  of  Christianity,  and  the  falsehood  and  vanity 
of  heathenism,  he  could  not  vv,ell  avoid  making  use  of  the 
same  topics. 

Cyprian's  behaviour,  both  before  and  after  his  baptism, 
was  so  highly  pleasing  to  the  bishop  of  Carthage,  that  he 
ordained  liim  priest  a  few  months   after,  although  it  waa 
rather  irregular  to  ordain  any  person  in  his  noviciate  :   But 
Cyprian  was  so  extraordinary  a  person,  and  thought  capa- 
ble of  doing:  such  singidar  service  to   the  church,   that  it 
might  seem  allowable  in  his  case  to  dispense  a  little  with 
the  form  and  discipline  of  it.     Besides  his  known  talents  as 
a  man  of  learning,  he  had  acquired  a  high  reputation  of 
sanctity  since  his  conversion  ;  having   not  only  separated 
himself  from  his  wife,   which  in  those  days  was  thought  an 
extraordinary  act  of  piety,  but  also  consigned  over  all  his 
goods  to   the  poor,   and  given  himself  up  entirely  to  the 
things  of  God  ;   and  on  this  account,   when  the  bishop  of 
Carthage  died  the  year  after,  that  is,  in  the  year  248,  none 
was  judged  so  proper  to  succeed  him  as  Cyprian.     Cyprian 
himself,  as  Pontius  tells  us,   was  extremely  against  it,  and 
kept  out  of  the   way  on  jjurpose  to  avoid  being  chosen  j 
but  the  people  insisted  upon  it,  and  he  was  forced  to  com- 
ply.    The  quiet  and  repose  which  the  Christians  had  en- 
joyed for  the  last  forty  years,  had,  it  seems,  greatly  cor- 
rupted their  manners  ;  and  tlierefore  Cyprian's  first  care, 
after  his  advancement  to  the  bishopric,  was  to  correct  dis- 
orders and  reform  abuses.     Luxury  was  prevalent  among 


190  CYPRIAN. 

them ;  and  many  of  their  women  weie  remarkable  inde- 
corous in  the  article  of  dress.  This  occasioned  him  to  draw 
up  his  piece,  "  De  habitu  virginum,  or,  concerning  the 
dress  of  young  women  ;"  in  which,  besides  what  he  says 
on  that  particular  head,  he  inculcates  many  lessons  of  mo- 
desty and  sobriety. 

In  the  year  249,  the  emperor  Decius  began  to  issue  out 
very  severe  edicts  against  the  Christians,  which  particu- 
larly affected  those  living  upon  the  coasts  of  Africa ;  and 
in  the  beginning  of  the  year  250,  the  heathens,  in  the 
circus  and  amphitheatre  at  Carthage,   loudly  insisted  upon 
Cyprian's   being  thrown   to  the  lions  :  a  common  method, 
as  is  well  known,  of  destroying  the  primitive  Christians, 
Cyprian  upon  this  withdrew  from  his  church  at  Carthage, 
and  fled  into  retirement,  to  avoid  the  fury  of  the  persecu- 
tion ;    which  step,    how  justifiable  soever  in  itself,    gave 
great  scandal,  and  seems  to  have  been  considered  by  the 
clergy  of  Rome,  in  a  public  letter  written  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  it  to  the  clergy  of  Carthage,  as  a  desertion  of  his 
post  and  pastoral  duty.     It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  to  find 
Cyprian    himself,  as    well   as   his  apologist,    Pontius,    the 
writer  of  his  life,  so  solicitous  to  excuse  it ;  which   they 
both  endeavour  to  do  by  affirming,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the 
times,  "  that  he  was  commanded   to  retire   by   a  special 
revelation  from  heaven  ;  and  that  his  flight  was  not  the 
effect  of  any  other  fear  but  that  of  offending  God."     It  u 
remarkable,  that  this  father  was  a  great  pretender  to  visions. 
For  instance,  in  a  letter  to  Caecilius,  he  declares,  **  that 
he  had  received   a  divine  admonition,  to  mix  water  with 
wine  in  the  sacrament  of  the  eucharist,  in  order  to  render 
it  effectual."     In  another  to  the  clergy,  concerning  cer- 
tain priests,  who  had  restored  some  lapsed  Christians  too 
hastily  to  the  communion  of  the  church,  he  threatens  them 
to  execute  "  what  he  was  ordered  to  do  against  them,  in  a 
vision,  if  they  did  not  desist."     He  makes  the  same  threat 
to  one  Pupianus,  who  had  spoken  ill  of  him,  and  withdrawn 
himself  from  his  communion.     In  a  letter  likewise  to  the 
clergy  and  the  people,  he  tells  them,  "  how  he  had  been 
admonished  and  directed  by  God  to  ordain  one  Numidicus 
a  priest."     Dodwell,   in  his  "  Dissertationes  Cyprianicte," 
has  made  a  large  collection   of  these  visions  af  Cyprian, 
which  he  treats  with  more  reverence  than  they  seem  to 
deserve. 

As  soon  as  Cyprian  had  withdrawn  himself,  ho  was  pro- 


CYPRIAN.  191 

scribed  by  name,  and  his  goods  confiscated.  He  lay  con- 
cealed, but  not  inactive;  for  he  continued  to  write  from 
time  to  time  to  the  clergy  and  to  the  laity  such  letters  as 
their  unhappy  situation  and  occasions  required.  He  ex- 
horted the  clergy  to  take  care  of  the  discipline  of  the 
church,  of  the  poor,  and  especially  of  those  who  suffered 
for  the  gospel  ;  and  he  gave  them  particular  directions 
upon  each  of  these  heads.  He  exhorted  the  people  to  be 
of  good  courage,  to  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  and  to  per- 
severe against  all  the  terrors  of  persecution  even  unto 
death  ;  assuring  them,  in  the  words  of  the  apostle,  that  the 
present  "  afflictions,  which  were  but  for  a  moment,  would 
work  for  them  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory."  When  the  persecution  ceased,  either  in  251  or 
252,  Cyprian  returned  to  Carthage,  and  appeared  again 
at  the  head  of  his  clergy.  He  had  now  much  business 
upon  his  hands,  which  was  occasioned  in  his  absence, 
partly  by  the  persecution,  and  the  disorders  attending  it, 
and  partly  by  divisions  which  had  arisen  among  the  Chris- 
tians. The  first  thing  that  presented  itself  was  the  case  of 
the  lapsed,  or  those  unhappy  members  of  the  church  who 
had  not  been  able  to  scand  the  fiery  trial  of  persecution, 
but  had  been  drawn  by  the  terrors  of  it  to  renounce  Christ, 
and  sacrifice  to  idols ;  and  for  the  settling  of  this,  he  im- 
mediately called  a  council  at  Carthage.  The  year  after, 
he  called  another  council,  to  sit  upon  the  baptism  of 
infants;  and,  in  255,  a  third,  to  debate  concerning  bap-* 
tism  received  from  heretics,  which  was  there  determined 
to  be  void  and  of  no  effect.  All  these  points  had  produced 
great  disputes  and  disturbances;  and  as  to  the  last,  namely, 
heretical  baptism,  it  was  so  far  from  being  fixed  at  Car- 
thage to  the  satisfaction  of  the  church,  that  Stephen,  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  and  a  great  part  of  the  Christian  world, 
afterwards  opposed  it  with  the  utmost  violence. 

These  divisions  and  tumults  among  the  Christians  raised 
a  second  persecution  against  them,  in  257,  under  the 
emperor  Valerian.  Cyprian  was  summoned  to  appear 
before  Paternus,  the  proconsul  of  Carthage,  by  whom, 
after  he  had  confessed  himself  a  Christian,  and  refused  to 
sacrifice  to  idols,  he  was  condemned  to  be  banished.  He 
was  sent  to  Curebis,  a  little  town  fifty  miles  from  Carthage, 
aituated  by  the  sea,  over  against  Sicily  :  and  here  Pontius 
says  he  had  another  vision,  admonishing  him  of  his  death, 
i^hich  was  to  happen  the  year  after.     When  he  had  con- 


192  CYPRIAN. 

tinued  in  this  place,  where  he  was  treated  with  kindness 
by  the  natives,  and  frequently  visited  by  the  Christians, 
for  eleven  months,  Galerius  Maximus,  a  new  proconsul, 
who  had  succeeded  Aspasius,  recalled  him  from  his  exile, 
and  ordered  him  publicly  to  appear  at  Carthage,  Gale- 
rius, however,  bein^^  retired  to  Utica,  and  Cyprian  having 
intimation  that  he  was  to  be  carried  thither,  the  latter 
absconded,  and,  when  soldiers  were  sent  to  apprehend 
tim,  was  not  to  be  found.  Cyprian  excuses  this  conduct 
in  a  letter,  by  saying,  that  "  it  was  not  the  fear  of  death 
which  made  him  conceal  himself,  but  that  he  thought  it 
became  a  bishop  to  die  upon  the  spot,  and  in  sight  of  that 
flock  over  which  he  presided."  Accordingly,  when  the 
proconsul  returned  to  Carthage,  Cyprian  came  forth,  and 
presented  himself  to  the  guards,  who  were  commissioned 
and  ready  to  seize  him.  He  was  carried  to  the  proconsul, 
who  ordered  him  to  be  brought  again  on  the  morrow. 
Cyprian  being  introduced,  the  proconsul  put  several  ques-" 
tions  to  him,  which  he  replying  to  with  unchangeable  for- 
titude, the  former  pronounced  upon  him  the  sentence  of 
death  ;  to  which  the  martyr  answered,  "  God  be  praised!'* 
He  was  then  led  awa}  to  the  place  of  execution,  where  he 
suffered  with  great  firmness  and  constancy ;  after  he  had 
been  bishop  of  Carthage  ten  years,  and  a  Christian  not 
more  than  twelve.     He  died  Sept.  14,  258. 

The  works  of  tliis  father  and  confessor  have  been  often 
printed.  The  first  edition  of  any  note  was  that  of  Rigal- 
tius,  printed  at  Paris  in  164S;  afterwards  in  1666,  with 
very  great  additions.  This  edition  of  Rigaltius  was  con- 
siderably improved  by  Fell,  bishop  of  Oxford  ;  at  which 
place  it  was  handsomely  printed  in  1682,  with  the  "  An- 
nales  Cypr.anici"  of  bishop  Pearson  prefixed.  Fell's  edi- 
tion was  reprinted  at  Amsterdam  in  1700;  after  which  a 
Benedictine  monk  published  another  edition  of  this  father 
at  Paris  in  1727.  The  works  of  Cyprian  have  been  trans- 
lated into  English  by  Dr.  Marshal  in  1717  ;  for  this  reason 
chiefiy,  that  of  all  the  f.  thers  none  are  capable  of  being 
so  useiully  quoted,  in  su|)poriing  the  doctrines  and  dis- 
cipline of  our  church,  as  he.  His  It  ttcrs  are  particularly 
valuable,  as  they  not  only  afford  more  particulars  of  his 
life  than  Pontius  has  oriven,  but  are  a  valuable  treasure  of 
ecclesiastical  liistory.  The  spiiit,  taste,  discipline,  and  ha- 
bits of  the  times,  among  Christians,  an-  strongly  deli- 
Bcated  i  nor  have  we  m  all  the  thud  century  auy  accouut 


CYRIL.  193 

to  be  compared  with  them.     In  his  general  style,  he  is  the 
most  eloquent  and  perspicuous  of  all  the  Latin  fathers.  * 

CYRANO.     See  BERGERAC. 

CYRIL,  of  Jerusalem,  was  ordained  a  priest  of  that 
church  by  Maximus  bishop  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  after  Maxi- 
mus's  death,  which  happened  about  the  year  350,  became 
his  successor  in  that  see,  through  the  interest  of  Acacius 
bishop  of  Cassarea,  and  the  bishops  of  his  party.  This 
made  the  orthodoxy  of  Cyril  higldy  suspected,  because 
Acacius  was  an  Arian ;  and  St.  Jerome  accuses  Cyril,  as  if 
h«  was  one  too :  but  Theodoret  assures  us,  that  he  was 
not.  His  connexions,  however,  with  Acacius,  were  pre- 
sently broken  by  a  violent  contest  which  arose  between 
them  about  the  prerogatives  of  their  respective  sees.  The 
council  of  Nice  had  decreed  to  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem  the 
honour  of  precedency  amongst  the  bishops  of  his  province, 
without  concerning  himself  at  all  with  the  right  of  the 
church  of  Cffisarea,  which  was  metropolitan  to  that  of  Je- 
rusalem. This  made  Maximus,  and  after  him  Cyril,  who 
were  bishops  of  Jerusalem,  to  insist  upon  certain  rights 
about  consecrating  bishops,  and  assembling  councils,  which 
Acacius  considered  as  an  encroachment  upon  the  jurisdic- 
tions of  his  province.  Hence  a  dispute  ensued,  and  Aca- 
cius calling  a  synod,  contrived  to  have  Cyril  deposed, 
under  the  pretence  of  a  very  great  sin  he  had  committed  in 
the  time  of  a  late  famine,  by  exposing  to  sale  the  treasures 
of  the  church,  and  applying  the  money  to  the  support  of 
the  poor.  This,  however,  might  possibly  have  been  passed 
over,  as  an  offence  at  least  of  a  pardonable  nature,  but  for 
one  circumstance  that  unluckily  attended  it;  which  was, 
that  amongst  these  treasures  that  were  sold  there  was  a  rich 
embroidered  robe,  which  had  been  presented  to  the  church 
by  Constantine  the  Great ;  and  this  same  robe  was  afterwards 
seen  to  have  been  worn  by  a  common  actress  upon  the 
stage  :  which,  as  soon  as  it  was  known,  was  considered  as  a 
horrible  profanation  of  that  sacred  vestment. 

Cyril,  in  the  mean  time,  encouraged  by  the  emperor 
Constantius  himself,  appealed  from  the  sentence  of  depo- 
sition which  Acacius  and  his  council  had  passed  upon  him, 
to  the  higher  tribunal  of  a  more  numerous  council  ^  but 
was  obliged  to  retire  to  Tarsus,  where  he  was  kindly  re- 

•  Cave. — Dupin. — Lardner, — Mosheim;  but  cbiefly   Milner's  Eccl.  History 
Fol.  I.  3W,  et  seq. 

Vol.  XL  O 


194  CYRIL. 

ceived  by  Sylvanus,  the  bishop  of  that  place,  and  suflfered 
to  celebrate  the  holy  mysteries,  and  to  preach  in  his  diocese. 
In  the  year  359  he  appeared  at  the  council  of  Seleucia, 
where  he  was  treated  as  a  lawful  bishop,  and  had  the  rank 
of  precedency  given  him  by  several  bishops,  though  Aca- 
cius  did  all  he  could  to  hinder  it,  and  deposed  him  a  se- 
cond time.  Under  Julian  he  was  restored  to  his  see  of 
Jerusalem,  and  is  said  to  have  interposed  to  prevent  the 
attemjjts  that  were  made  in  that  reign  to  rebuild  the  tem- 
ple. Lastly,  under  Theodosius,  we  find  him  firmly  esta- 
blished in  his  old  honours  and  dignities,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued unmolested  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  hap- 
pened in  the  year  386. 

The  remains  of  this  father  are  not  voluminous  ;  but  con- 
sist of  eighteen  catechetical  discourses,  and  five  mysta- 
gogic  catecheses,  and  a  single  letter.  The  letter  is  in- 
deed a  remarkable  one,  as  well  for  its  being  written  to 
Constantius,  as  for  the  subject  it  is  written  upon  :  for  it 
gives  a  wonderful  account  of  the  sign  of  the  cross,  which 
appeared  in  the  heavens  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  reign  of  this 
emperor,  which  was  probably  some  natural  phenomenon 
not  then  understood.  His  catecheses  form  a  well-dicrested 
abridgment  of  the  Christian  doctrine  :  the  first  eighteen 
are  addressed  to  catechumens,  and  the  other  five  to  the 
newly  baptised.  The  style  is  plain  and  simple.  The  best 
editions  of  his  works  are  those  of  Petavius,  Paris,  1622,  fol.; 
of  Pnevotius,  ibid.  1631;  of  Milles,  Oxford,  1703;  and  of 
Touttee,  Paris,  1720. ' 

CYRIL,  of  Alexandria,  another  celebrated  father  of  the 
church,  succeeded  his  uncle  Theophilus  in  the  bishopric  of 
that  place  in  the  year  412;  and  as  the  bishops  of  Alexandria 
had  long  acquired  great  authority  and  power  in  that  city, 
Cyril  took  every  opportunity  to  confirm  and  increase  it.  He 
was  no  sooner  advanced  to  this  see,  than  he  drove  the  Nova- 
tians  out  of  the  city  ;  and,  as  Dupin  says,  stripped  Theo- 
pemptus  their  bishop  of  every  thing  he  had.  In  the  year 
415  the  Jews  committed  some  insult  upon  the  Christians  of 
Alexandria,  which  so  inflamed  the  zeal  of  Cyril  that  he  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  people,  demolished  the  syna- 
gogues of  the  Jews,  drove  them  all  out  of  the  city,  and 
suffered  the  Christians  to  pillage  their  effects.  This,  how- 
ever, highly  displeased  Orestes,  the  governor  of  the  town ; 

1  Cave.—Dupin. 


CYRIL.  195 

who  began  to  be  sensible  that  the  bishop's  authority,  if 
not  timely  suppressed,  might  possibly  be  found  too  strong 
for  that  of  ilie  magistrate.  Upon  whicli  a  kind  of  war  broke 
out  between  Orestes  and  tlie  bishop,  and  each  had  his 
party  :  the  inhabitants  were  inclined  to  be  seditious  ;  many 
tumults  were  raised,  and  some  battles  fought  in  the  very 
streets  of  Alexandria.  One  day,  when  Orestes  \vas  abroad 
in  an  open  chariot,  he  found  himself  instatuly  surrounded 
with  about  500  monks,  who  had  left  their  monasteries  to 
revenge  the  quarrel  of  their  bishop.  They  pursued  him 
fiercely,  wounded  him  with  stones,  and  had  certainly  killed 
him,  if  the  people  had  not  restrained  their  fury  till  his 
guards  came  up  to  his  relief.  Ammonius,  one  of  these 
monks,  was  afterwards  seized  by  the  order  of  Orestes, 
and,  being  put  upon  the  rack,  died  under  the  operation. 
Cyril,  however,  had  him  immediately  canonized,  and  took 
every  public  opportunity  of  commending  his  zeal  and 
constancy.  About  the  same  time  there  was  at  Alexandria 
a  heathen  philosophess,  named  Hypatia,  whose  fame  and 
character  were  every  where  so  celebrated,  that  people 
came  from  all  parts  to  see  and  to  consult  her.  Orestes  saw 
her  often,  which  made  the  Christians  imagine  that  it  was 
she  who  inspired  the  governor  with  such  an  aversion  to 
their  bishop.  This  suspicion  wrought  so  strongly  upon 
some  of  their  zealots,  that  on  a  certain  day  they  seized 
upon  Hypatia  as  she  was  returning  home,  dragged  her 
violently  through  the  streets,  and  caused  the  mob  to  tear 
her  limb  from  limb.  Damascius,  who  wrote  the  life  of 
Isidore  the  philosopher,  charges  Cyril  himself  with  being 
the  contriver  of  this  horrid  murder. 

But  what  affords  the  most  memorable  instance  of  Cyril's 
fiery  zeal,  is  his  quarrel  with  Nestorius,  bishop  of  Constan- 
tinople. Nestorius  had  urged  in  some  of  his  homilies, 
that  the  virgin  Mary  ought  not  to  be  called  the  mother  of 
.God  ;  and  these  homilies  coming  to  Egypt,  raised  no  small 
disturbances  among  the  monks  there.  Cyril  wrote  a  pas- 
toral letter  to  the  monks,  in  which  he  maintained,  that  she 
was  indeed  the  mother  of  God,  and  therefore  ought  to  be 
called  so.  As  soon  as  Nestorius  heard  of  this  letter,  he 
openly  declared  Cyril  his  enemy,  and  refused  to  have  any 
further  commerce  with  him.  Cyril  upon  this,  wrote  Nes- 
torius a  very  civil  letter,  without  approving  his  doctrine ; 
which  Nestorius  answered  as  civilly,  without  retracting  it 
The  affair  was  laid  at  length  before  pope  Celestiue  j  aftei 

O  2 


196  CYRIL. 

which  Cyril,  supported  by  the  pontiff's  authority,  began 
to  issue  forth  anathemas  against  Nestorius  and  his  doctrine, 
and  the  quarrel  rose  to  such  a  pitch,  that  it  was  necessary 
to  convene  a  general  council  at  Ephesus,  in  order  to  put 
an  end  to  it :  where  some  bishops  of  the  East,  who  were 
assembled  on  the  part  of  Nestorius,  gave  Cyril  so  warm  an 
opposition,  that  they  got  him  deprived  of  his  bishopric,  and 
thrown  into  prison.  But  he  was  soon  set  at  liberty  and  re- 
stored, and  gained  a  complete  victory  over  Nestorius,  who 
was  deposed  from  his  see  of  Constantinople  in  the  year  43 1 . 
Cyril  returned  to  Alexandria,  where  he  died  in  the  year  444. 
His  works  are  voluminous,  and  have  been  often  printed. 
They  consist  of  the  commentaries  upon  the  Pentateuch, 
called  "  Glaphyra,  &c."  Isaiah,  the  12  lesser  prophets, 
and  St.  John's  gospel;  17  books  on  the  adoration  and 
worship  of  God  in  spirit  and  truth,  composed  in  form  of  a 
dialogue ;  dialogues  on  the  holy  and  consubstantial  tri- 
nity, and  on  the  incarnation  ;  a  discourse  of  the  orthodox 
faith  ;  homilies,  letters,  and  apologies.  John  Aubert,  ca- 
non of  Laon,  published  the  best  edition  in  Greek  and  Latin, 
1638,  6  vols,  fol.  which  are  bound  in  seven,  because  vol. 
5th  consists  of  two  parts.  St.  Cyril's  style  is  diffuse  and 
singular  ;  his  writings  contain  much  subtilty,  metaphysical 
reasoning,  and  all  the  niceties  of  logic.  St.  Isidore,  of 
Pelusium,  accuses  him  of  acting  with  too  much  zeal  and 
heat  during  the  disputes  in  which  he  was  engaged ;  but 
the  catholic  writers  think  that  he  atoned  for  that  fault  by 
his  piety  and  innocent  life.' 

CYRIL  LUCAR,  a  famous  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  af- 
terwards of  Constantinople,  was  born  November  12,  1572, 
in  the  island  of  Candia.  He  studied  at  Venice  and  Padua, 
and  was  pupil  to  the  celebrated  Margunius,  bishop  of  Cy- 
thera.  Cyril  went  afterwards  into  Germany,  embraced  the 
doctrine  of  the  reformed  religion,  and  attempted  to  intro- 
duce it  into  Greece  ;  but  the  Greeks  opposed  it,  and  ha 
wrote  a  confession  of  faith,  in  which  he  defended  his  prin- 
ciples. Having  been  archimandrite,  he  was  raised  to  the 
patriarchate  of  Alexandria,  and,  some  time  after,  elected 
to  that  of  Constantinople,  1621;  but,  continuing  firm  in 
his  connections  with  the  protestants,  he  was  deposed,  and 
confined  in  the  island  of  Rhodes.  Some  time  after,  how- 
ever, he  was  restored  to  his  dignity,  at  the  solicitation  of 

»  Care. — Dupin. — Moreri. 


CYRIL.  197 

the  English  ambassador;  but  in  1638  he  was  carried  from 
Constantinople  and  put  to  death  near  the  Black  Sea,  by 
order  of  the  grand  signior,  in  the  most  cruel  mann-er.  He 
had  a  mind  much  superior  to  the  slavish  condition  of  his 
country,  and  laboured  to  promote  the  interests  of  genuine 
Christianity,  amidst  much  opposition  and  danger.  He  had 
collected  a  very  excellent  library,  rich  in  Greek  MSS.  a 
specimen  of  which,  the  celebrated  Codex  Alexandrinus, 
one  of  the  most  ancient  and  valuable  manuscripts  in  the 
world,  he  presented  to  king  Charles  I.  by  his  ambassador, 
sir  Thomas  Roe.  The  fate  of  his  other  MSS.  was  pecu- 
liarly lamented.  In  order  to  secure  them,  the  Dutch  re- 
sident at  Constantinople  sent  them  by  a  ship  bound  for 
Holland,  which  was  wrecked  in  sight  of  land,  and  all  her 
cargo  lost. ' 

CYRILLO,  Dominic.     See  CIRILLO. 

»  Moreri. — Diet.  Hist. — Pocock's  Works  and  Life  by  Twells,.  and  '.' CoUec- 
taaeade  Cyrilio  Lucario,"  by  3i»itU#  Lond.  1707,  8vo. 


(      1S8     ) 


D. 


D'aCHERI.     See  ACHERI. 

DACIER  (Andrew),  a  French  critic  and  philologer, 
was  born  of  protestant  parents  at  Castres  in  Upper  Lan- 
guedoc  April  6,  1651,  and  began  to  be  educated  in  the 
college  there ;  but,  when  by  a  decree  of  the  council  the 
direction  of  it  was  given,  in  1664,  to  the  Jesuits  alone, 
his  father  sent  him  to  the  university  of  Puylaurens,  and 
afterwards  to  that  of  Sauniur,  that  he  might  finish  his  clas- 
sical studies  under  Tannegui  le  Fevre,  or  Tanaquil  Faber. 
This  eminent  scholar  was  so  pleased  with  Dacier's  inclina- 
tion for  learning,  that  he  kept  him  alone  in  his  house,  after 
he  had  dismissed  the  rest  of  the  pupils;  and  here  he  con- 
ceived that  affection  for  le  Fevre's  celebrated  daughter, 
which  ended  at  length  in  marriage.  On  le  Fevre's  death 
in  1672,  Dacier  returned  to  his  father;  and  after  some 
time  went  to  Paris,  in  order  to  gain  a  settlement,  and  cul- 
tivate the  acquaintance  a,nd  friendship  of  the  learned  :  in 
the  former  of  these  objects  he  did  not  at  first  succeed;  but 
on  a  second  visit  to  Paris,  he  procured  an  introduction  to 
the  duke  of  Montausier,  governor  to  the  dauphin,  who  put 
him  on  the  list  of  the  commentators  for  the  use  of  the  dau- 
phin, and  engaged  him  in  the  edition  of  Pompeius  Festus, 
and  Marcus  Verrius  Flaccus.  This  he  published  at  Paris, 
3681,  in  4to;  and  it  was  again  published  at  Amsterdam, 
1699,  in  4to,  which  edition  is  preferable  to  that  of  Paris, 
because  there  are  added  to  it  the  entire  notes  of  Joseph 
Scaliger,  Fulvius  Ursinns,  and  Anthony  Augustinus,  and 
the  new  fragments  of  Festus.  His  Horace,  with  a  French 
translation,  and  notes  critical  and  historical,  came  out  at 
Paris,  1681,  in  10  vols.  !2mo,  and  has  often  been  printed 
since.  The  best  edition  of  this  work  is  that  of  Amsterdam, 
1726,  consisting  of  the  same  number  of  volumes  in  the 
same  size.  Another  edition  was  printed  at  Amsterdam  in 
8  vols,  12mo,  to  which  were  added  the  translation  and 
notes  of  father  Sanadon,  published  at  Paris,  1728,  in  2  vols, 
4to,     Mr.  John  Masson,  a  refugee  minister  in  Englaud| 


D  A  C  I  E  R.  195 

made  several  animadversions  upon  Dacier's  notes  on  Ho- 
race, in  his  life  of  that  poet,  prnited  at  Leyden  in  1708  ; 
which  occasioned  Dacier  to  publish  new  explications  upon 
the  works  of  Horace,  with  an  answer  to  the  criticisms  of 
Mr,  Masson,  in  which  he  treats  Masson's  book  with  great 
contempt;  and,  speaking  of  verbal  criticism,  styles  it 
"  the  last  effort  of  reflection  and  judgment."  These  were 
afterwards  added  to  Sanadon's  edition  of  Dacier's  Horace. 

The  next  specimen  of  his  learning  was  in  the  edition  he 
gave  of  the  twelfth  book  of  the  anagogical  contemplations 
of  St.  Anastasius,  monk  of  mount  Sinai,  upon  the  creation 
of  the  world,  now  first  published,  together  with  notes  and 
a  Latin  translation,   London,  1682,   4to. 

In  1683  Dacier  married  mademoiselle  le  Fevre ;  and  in 
1685  abjured  with  his  lady  the  protestant  religion.  His 
marriage,  which  was  styled  "  the  union  of  Greek  and  La- 
tin," added  considerably  to  his  felicity,  and  procured  him 
an  able  assistant  in  his  studies  and  publications.  In  1691 
he  was  assisted  by  madame  Dacier  in  a  French  translation 
of  the  moral  reflections  of  the  emperor  Marcus  Antoninus, 
with  notes,  in  2  vols.  12mo.  In  1692  he  published  Aris- 
totle's Poetics,  translated  into  French,  with  critical  re- 
marks, in  4to.  This  work  was  reprinted  in  Holland  in 
12mo;  and  some  have  considered  it  as  Dacier's  master- 
piece. In  1G93  he  published  a  French  translation  of  the 
Oedipus  ami  Electra  of  Sophocles,  in  12mo  ;  but  not  with 
the  same  success  as  the  Poetics  just  mentioned.  We  have 
already  noticetl  six  publications  of  Dacier :  the  rest  shall 
now  follow  in  order  ;  for  the  life  of  this  learned  man,  like 
that  of  most  others,  is  little  more  than  a  history  of  his 
works.  He  published,  7.  Plutarch's  Lives,  translated  into 
French,  with  notes,  Paris,  1694,  vol,  I.  Svo.  This  essay, 
which  contains  oidy  five  lives,  is  the  beginning  of  a  work, 
which  he  afterwards  finished,  8.  The  works  of  Hippo- 
crates, translated  into  French,  with  notes,  and  compared 
with  the  manuscripts  in  the  king's  library,  Paris,  1697, 
2  vols.  12mo.  The  Journal  des  S^avans  speaks  well  of 
this  version.  9.  The  works  of  Plato,  translated  into  French, 
with  notes,  and  the  life  of  that  j)hilosopher,  with  an  ac- 
count of  the  principal  doctrines  of  his  philosophy,  1699, 
2  vols.  12mo.  These  are  only  some  of  Plato's  pieces. 
10.  The  lite  of  Pythagoras,  his  Symbols,  and  Golden  Verses, 
the  life  of  Hierocles,  and  his  Commentary  upon  the  Golden 
A^erses,   1706,  2  vols.  12mo. 


200  D  A  C  I  E  R. 

In  1695,  Dacier  had  succeeded  Felibien  in  the  academy 
of  inscriptions,  and  Francis  de  Hariay,  archbishop  of  Paris, 
in  the  French  academy.     In  1701  a  new  regulation  was 
made-in  the  academy  of  inscriptions,  by  which  every  mem- 
ber was  obhged  to  undertake  some  useful  work  suitable  to 
his  genius   and  course   of  studies :   and,  in  conformity   to 
this  order,  Dacier  undertook  the  above  translation  of  the 
life  of  Pythagoras,   &c.      11.  The  manual  of  Epictetus, 
with  five  treatises  of  Simplicius  upou  important  subjects, 
relating  to  morality  and  religion,  translated  into  French^ 
with  notes,  1715,  2  vols.  I2mo.     The  authors  of  the  "  Eu- 
rope S9avante  of  Jan.  1718,"  having  criticised  the  speci- 
men he  had  given  of  his  translation  of  Plutarch's  Lives,  he 
printed,   12.  An  Answer  to  them,  and  inserted  it  in  the 
Journal  des  S^avans  of  the  25th  of  June  and  the  11th  of 
July    1718.      13.  Plutarch's  Lives  of  illustrious  men,  re- 
vised by  the  MSS.  and  translated  into  French,  with  notes 
historical  and  critical,  and  the  supplement  of  those  com- 
parisons which  are  lost.     To  which  are  added,  those  heads 
which  could  be  found,  and  a  general  index  of  matters  con- 
tained in  the  work,  Paris,   1721,  8  vols.  4to ;  Amsterdam, 
1723,  9  vols.  8vo.     This  work  was  received  with  applause, 
and  supposed  to  be  well  executed  ;  yet  not  so,  say  the  au- 
thors of  the  Bibliotheque  Fran^oise,  as  to  make  the  world 
at  once  forget  the  translation  of  Amyot,  obsolete  as  it  is. 
Dacier  published  some  other  things  of  a  lesser  kind,  as, 
14.  A  Speech  made  in  the  French  academy,  on  his  admis- 
sion.     15.  Answers,    which  he  made,    as   director  of  the 
academy,  to  the  speech  of  M.  Cousin  in  1697,  and  to  that 
of  M.  de  Boze  in  1715,  both  inserted  in  the  collections  of 
the  French  academy.      16.   A  dissertation  upon  the  origin 
of  Satire,  inserted  in  the  second  volume  of  the  memoirs  of 
the  academy  of  Belles  Lettres  in  1717.     17.  Notes  upon 
Longinus.     Boileau,  in  the  preface  to  his  translation    of 
Longinus,  styles  these  notes  very  learned  ;  and  says,  that 
*'  the  author  of  them  is  not  only  a  man   of  very  extensive 
learning,  and  an  excellent  critic,  but  likewise  a  gentleman 
of  singular  politeness  ;  which  is  so  much  the  more  valuable, 
as  it  seldom  attends  great  learning."     Boileau  has  added 
them   to   his   own    notes    upon    Longinus ;  and   they    are 
printed  in  all  the  editions  of  his  works.     Dacier  wrote  also 
a  commentary  upon  Theocritus,  which  he  mentions  in  his 
notes  upon  Horace,  ode  xxix  ;  and  a  short  treatise  upon 
religion,  containing  the  reasons  which  brought  him  over  to 


D  A  C  I  E  R.  201 

the  church  of  Rome  :  but  these   two   works  were  never 
printed. 

He  had  a  share  too  in  the  medallic  history  of  Lewis  XIV. ; 
and,  when  it  was  finished,  was  chosen  to  present  it  to  his 
majesty  ;  who,  being  informed  of  the  pains  which  Dacier 
had  taken  in  it,  settled  upon  him  a  pension  of  2000  Hvres ; 
and  about  the  same  time  appointed  him   keeper  of  the 
books  of  the  king's  closet  in  the  Louvre.     In  1713  he  was 
made   perpetual   secretary    of  the   French   academy.     In 
1717  he  obtained  a  grant  in  reversion  of  10,000  crowns 
upon  his  place  of  keeper  of  the  books  of  the  king's  closet ; 
and  when  this  post  was  united  to  that  of  library-keeper  to 
the  king,  in  1720,  he  was  not  only  continued  in  the  privi- 
leges of  his  place  during  lite,  but  the  reversion  of  it  was 
granted  to  his  wife ;  a  favour,  of  which  there  had  never 
been  an  instance  before.     But  her  death  happening  first, 
rendered  this  grant,    so   honourable   to   her,    ineffectuak 
Great  as  Dacier's  grief  was  for  the  loss  of  an  helpmate  so 
like  himself,  it  did  not  prevent  him  from  seeking  out  ano- 
ther ;  and  he  had  actually  been  inarried  at  a  very  advanced 
period  of  life,  had  he  not  died  almost  suddenly  on  Sept. 
18,   1722,   of  an  ulcer  in  the  throat,  which   he  did  not 
think  at  all  dangerous,  since  that  very   evening  he  was 
present  at  the  academy.     He  was  7 1  years  of  age ;  short 
of  stature,  and  of  a  long  and  meagre  visage.     He  was  a 
great  promoter  of  virtue  and  learning  ;  and  if  he  was  some- 
what partial  to  the  ancients,  in  the  famous  controversy  on 
the  comparative  merits  of  the  ancients  and  moderns,  yet 
this  may  be  pardoned  in  one  who  had  so  assiduously  studied 
their  works.     It  would  be  less  easy  to  excuse  his  occasional 
boldness  as  a  critic,  and  his  intemperance  as  a  disputant. 
In  his  own  time,  however,  he  enjoyed  deserved  reputation. 
He  chose  none  but  useful  subjects  ;  devoted  his  labours  to 
works  only  of  importance  ;  and  ekiriched  the  French  lan- 
guage with  those  remains  of  wise  antiquity,  which  are  most 
advantageous   to  the  morals   of  mankind.      He  could  vfit 
make  his  countrymen  classical,  but  he  did  what  he  could 
to  give  them  a  relish  for  the  ancients.     This,  however, 
although  an  useful  attempt  in  his  day,  has  narrowed  the 
bounds  of  his  fame,  and  except  in  his  Aristotle's  Poetics, 
and  some  parts  of  his  Horace,  modern  critics  seem  disin- 
clined to  acknowledge  his  taste  and  critical  acumen.  * 

*  Gen.  Diet. — Moreri. — Niceron,  vol.  Ill, — Baillet  Jugemens. — MorhoffPo- 
Jyhist. — Saxii  Onomasticon. 


202  D  A  C  I  E  R. 

DACIER  (Anne),  the  learned  wife  of  the  preceding, 
was  born  at  Saiimur,  about  the  end  of  1651.     She  was  only 
eleven  years  old  when  her  father  resolved  to  give  her  a 
learned  education  ;   which  is  said  to  have  been  owing  to  the 
following  circumstance,  that  while  he  was  teaching  one  of 
his  sons  the  rudiments  of  grammar,  in  the  same  room  where 
mademoiselle  le  Fevre  was  employed  with  her  needle,  she, 
with  every  appearance  of  unconcern,  now  and  then  supplied 
her  brother  with  answers  to  questions  that  puzzled  him.   This 
induced  her  father  to  give  her  a  regular  course  of  lessons, 
and  educate  her  as  a  scholar,  in  which  character  she  soon 
excelled  the  youths  under  his  care,  and  became  her  father's 
associate  in   some  of  his  publications.     We  are  told  that 
when  she  had  learned  Latin  enough  to  read  Phaedrus  and 
Terence,  he  began  to  instruct  her  in  the  Greek,  which 
she  was  so  much  pleased  with,  that  in  a  short  time  she  was 
capable   of  reading  Anacreon,  Callimachus,  Homer,  and 
the  Greek  Tragic  Poets.     As  she  read  them,  she  shewed 
so  much  taste  of  the  beauties  of  those  admirable  writers, 
that  all  the  fatigue  of  her  father  in  his  professorship  was 
softened  by  the  pleasure  which  he  found  in  teaching  her. 
To  divert  her  in  her  more  serious  studies,  he  taught  her 
the  Italian  language,  and  read  over  with  her  several  poets 
of  that  nation,  and  particularly  Tasso,  in   the  perusal  of 
whom  she  very  acutely  remarked  the  difference  between 
that  poet  and  Virgil  and  Homer.     She  sometimes  took  the 
liberty  of  disputing  with  her  father,  particularly,  on  one 
occasion,    respecting    Vaugelas's    translation    of    Quintus 
Curtius.      Her  father  was  charmed  with  it,  but  mademoi- 
selle le  Fevre  ventured  to  point  out  some  negligences  of 
style,  errors  in  language,  and  passages  ill  translated  ;  and 
he  was  frequently  obliged  to  own  himself  of  the  same  opi- 
nion with  her.     These  little  contests,  however,  gave  him 
great    satisfaction,    and    he   was   extremely    surprized   to 
find  so  delicate  a  taste,  and  so  uncommon  a  penetration, 
in  so  young  a  person. 

In  1673,  the  year  after  her  father  died,  she  went  to 
Paris,  and  was  tiieii  engaged  in  an  edition  of  Callimachus, 
which  she  published  in  1674,  in  4to.  Some  sheets  of  that 
work  having  been  shewn  to  Huetius,  preceptor  to  the  dau- 
phin, and  other  learned  men  at  court,  a  proposal  was  made 
to  her  of  preparing  some  Latin  authors  for  the  use  of  the 
dauphin ;  which,  though  she  rejected  at  first,  she  at  last 


D  A  C  I  E  R.  203 

Imdertook,  and  published  an  edition  of  Florus  in  1674,  in 
4to.  Her  reputation  being  now  spread  over  all  Europe, 
Christina  of  Sweden  ordered  count  Coningsmark  lo  make 
her  a  compliment  in  her  name  ;  upon  whicli  mademoiselle 
le  Fevre  sent  the  queen  a  Latin  letter  with  her  edition  of 
Florus.  Her  majesty  wrote  her  an  obliging  answer ;  and 
not  long  after  wrote  her  another  letter,  to  persuade  her  to 
quit  the  proiestant  religion,  and  inade  her  considerable 
otfers  to  settle  her  at  court.  This,  however,  she  declined, 
and  proceeded  in  the  task  she  had  undertaken,  of  pub- 
lishing authors  for  the  use  of  the  dauphin,  the  next  of 
which  was  *' Sextus  Aurelius  Victor,"  Paris,  1681,  4to ; 
in  which  same  year  also  she  published  a  French  translation 
of  the  poems  of  Anacreon  and  Sappho  with  notes,  which 
met  with  great  applause ;  so  great,  as  to  make  Boileau  de- 
clare, that  it  ought  to  deter  any  person  from  attempting 
to  translate  those  poems  into  verse.  She  published,  for 
the  use  of  the  dauphin,  Eutropius,  Paris,  1683,  4to,  which 
was  afterwards  printed  at  Oxford,  1696,  8vo  ;  and  Dictys 
Cretensis  &  Dares  Phrygius,  Paris,  1684,  4to,  which  was 
afterwards  printed,  cum  notis  variorum,  at  Amst.  1702,  8vo. 
She  had  also  published  French  translations  of  the  Amphi- 
tryo,  Epidicus,  and  fludens,  comedies  of  Plautus,  Paris, 
1683,  3  vols.  12mo,  and  of  the  Plutus  and  Clouds  of 
Aristophanes,  1684,  12mo,  with  notes,  and  an  examen  of 
all  these  plays  according  to  the  rules  of  the  theatre.  She 
was  so  charmed  with  the  Clouds  of  Aristophanes,  it  seems, 
that,  as  we  learn  from  herself,  she  had  read  it  over  200 
times  with  pleasure. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  various  publications,  so  close  to 
each  other,  she  married  Dacier,  with  whom  she  had  been 
brought  up  in  her  father's  house  from  her  earliest  years. 
This  happened,  as  we  have  already  observed  in  our  ac- 
count of  that  gentleman,  in  1683  ;  though  some  have  con- 
troverted not  only  the  date,  but  even  the  marriage  itself; 
and  have  surmised  that  she  was  previously  married  to  one 
John  Lesnier,  a  bookseller  of  her  father's,  and  that  she 
ran  away  from  him  for  the  sake  of  Dacier,  with  whom  she. 
Mas  never  married  in  any  regular  way.  But  it  is  hardly- 
possible  to  conceive,  that  so  extraordinary  a  circumstance 
in  the  history  of  this  celebrated  lady  must  not,  if  it  were 
true,  have  been  notorious  and  incontested.  We  are  there- 
fore apt  to  admit  father  Niceron's  solution  of  this  difficulty; 
^'bo  observes,  upon  this  occasion,  that  "  nothing  is  more 


204  D  A  C  I  E  R. 

common  than  for  a  person,  who  abandons  any  party,  to  be 
exposed  to  the  calumies  of  those  whom  they  have  quitted,'* 
and  to  suffer  by  them.     Madame  Dacier,  soon  after  her 
marriage,  declared  to  the  duke  of  Montausier  and  the  bi- 
shop of  Meaux,  who  had  been  her  friends,  a  design  of  re- 
conciling herself  to  the  church  of  Rome  ;  but  as  M.  Dacier 
was  not  yet  convinced  of  the  reasonableness   of  such   a 
change,  they  thought  proper  to  retire  to  Castres  in  1684, 
in  order  to  examine  the  controversy  between  the  protes- 
tants  and  papists.     They  at  last  determined  in  favour  of 
the  latter;  and,  as  already  noticed,  made  their  public  ab- 
juration in  Sept.  1685.     This,  in  the  opinion  of  her  catholic 
admirers,  might  probably  occasion   the   above-mentioned 
rumour,  so  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  madame  Dacier, 
and  for  which  there  was  probably  very  little  foundation. 
After  they  had  become  catholics,  however,  the  duke  of 
Montausier  and  the  bishop  of  Meaux  recommended  them 
at  court  ;  and  the   king  settled   a  pension   of  1500  iivres 
'  upon  M.  Dacier,  and  another  of  500  upon  his  lady.     The 
patent  was  expedited  in  November;  and,  upon  the  advice' 
which  they  received  of  it,  they  returned  to  Paris,  where 
they  resumed  their  studies ;  but  before  proceeding  in   our 
account  of  madame  Dacier's  publications,  it  is  necessary 
to  do  justice  to  the  liberality  of  her  patron  the  duke  de 
Montausier.     W'e  are  informed,    that  in    1682    this    lady 
having  dedicated  a  book  to  the  king  of  France,  she  could 
not  find  any  person  at  court,  who  would  venture  to  intro- 
duce her  to  his  majesty,  in  order  to  present  it,  because 
she  was  at  that  time  a  protestant.     The  duke  of  Montau- 
sier, being  informed  of  this,  offered  his  service  to  introduce 
her  to  the  king,  and  taking  her  in  his  coach,  presented 
her  and  her  book  to  his  majesty ;  who  told  him  with  an  air 
of  resentment,  that  he  acted  wrong  in  supporting  persons 
of  that  lady's  religion  ;  and  that  for  his  ])art  he  would  for- 
bid his  name  to  be  prefixed  to  any  book  written  by  Hugue- 
nots ;  for  which  purpose  he  would  give  orders  to  seize  all 
the  copies  of  mademoiselle  le  Fevre's  book.     The  duke 
answered  with  that  freedom  with  which  he  always  spoke 
to  the  king,  and  in  which  no  person  else  would  presume  to 
follow  him  :   "  Is  it  thus,   sir,   that  you  favour  polite  lite- 
rature ?     I  declare  to  you  frankly,  a  king  ought  not  to  be 
a  bigot."      He  added  then,  that  he  would  thank  the  lady 
in  his  majesty's  jianie,  and  make  her  a  present  of  an  hun- 
dred pistoles;  and  that  he  would  leave  it  to  the  king  to 
pay  him,  or  not  pay  him ;  and  he  did  as  he  had  said. 


D  A  C  I  E  R.  20i 

In  1688  she  published  a  French  translation  of  Terence's 
comedies,  with  notes,  in  8  vols.  12 mo.  She  is  said  to 
Lave  risen  at  live  o'clock  in  the  morning,  during  a  very 
sharp  winter,  and  to  have  dispatched  four  of  the  comedies; 
but,  upon  looking  them  over  some  months  after,  to  have 
flung  them  into  the  fire,  being  much  dissatisfied  with  them, 
and  to  have  begun  the  translation  again.  She  brought  the 
work  then  to  the  highest  perfection ;  and,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Frencii  critics,  even  reached  the  graces  and  noble 
simplicity  of  the  original.  It  was  a  circumstance  greatly 
to  her  honour,  that,  having  taken  the  liberty  to  change  the 
scenes  and  acts,  her  disposition  of  them  was  afterwards 
confirmed  by  an  excellent  MS.  in  the  king  of  France's 
library.  Tlie  best  and  most  finished  edition  of  this  univer- 
sally-admired performance,  is  that  of  1717;  which,  how- 
ever, was  greatly  improved  afterwards,  by  adopting  the 
emendations  in  Bentley's  edition.  She  had  a  hand  in  the 
translation  of  Marcus  Antoninus,  which  her  husband  pub- 
lished in  1691,  and  likewise  in  the  specimen  of  a  transla- 
tion of  Plutarch's  Lives,  which  he  published  three  years 
after;  but  being  now  intent  on  her  translation  of  Homer, 
she  left  her  husband  to  finish  that  of  Plutarch.  lu  1711 
appeared  her  Homer,  translated  into  French,  with  notes, 
in  3  vols.  12mo;  and  the  translation  is  reckoned  elegant 
and  faithful.  In  1714  she  published  the  Causes  of  the  Cor- 
ruption of  Taste.  This  treatise  was  written  against  M.  de 
la  Motte,  who,  in  the  preface  to  his  Iliad,  had  declared 
very  little  esteem  for  that  poem.  Madame  Dacier,  shocked 
with  the  liberty  he  had  taken  with  her  favourite  author, 
immediately  began  this  defence  of  him,  in  which  she  did 
not  treat  La  Motte  with  the  greatest  civility.  In  1716  she 
published  a  defence  of  Homer,  against  the  apology  of 
father  Ilardouin,  or,  a  sequel  of  the  causes  of  the  corrup- 
tion of  Taste :  in  which  she  attempts  to  shew,  that  father 
Hardouin,  in  endeavouring  to  apologize  for  Homer,  has 
done  him  a  greater  injury  than  ever  he  received  from  his 
most  declared  enemies.  Besides  these  two  pieces,  she  had 
prepared  a  third  against  La  Motte  ;  hut  suppressed  it,  after 
M.  de  Vallincourt  had  procured  a  reconciliation  beiweea 
them.  The  same  year  also  she  published  the  Odyssey  of 
Homer,  translated  from  the  Greek,  with  notes,  in  3  vols. 
12mo,  and  this,  as  far  as  we  can  find,  was  her  last  appear- 
ance as  an  author.  She  was  in  a  very  infirm  state  of 
health  the  last  two  years  of  her  life  ;  and  died,  after  a  very 


206  D  A  C  I  E  R. 

painful  sickness,  Aug.  17,  1720,  being  69  years  of  age. 
She  bad  two  daughters  and  a  son,  of  whose  education  she 
took  the  strictest  care;  but  the  son  died  young  :  one  of 
her  daughters  became  a  nun  ;  and  the  otlier,  who  is  said 
to  have  had  united  in  her  all  the  virtues  and  accomplish- 
ments of  her  sex,  died  at  1 8  years  of  age.  Her  mother 
has  said  high  things  of  her,  in  the  preface  to  her  transla- 
tion of  the  Iliad. 

Madame  Dacier  was  a  lady  of  great  virtue  as  well  as 
learning.  She  was  remarkable  for  firmness,  generosity, 
good  nature,  and  piety.  The  causes  of  her  change  of  re- 
ligion are  not  well  explained,  but  she  appears  to  have 
been  at  least  sincere.  Her  modesty  was  so  great,  that  she 
never  sjjoke  of  subjects  of  literature  ;  and  it  was  with  some 
difficulty  that  she  could  at  any  time  be  led  to  do  it.  There 
is  an  anecdote  related  of  her,  which  her  countrymen  say 
sets  this  modesty  in  a  very  strong  light,  although  others 
may  think  the  proof  equivocal.  It  is  cui^tomary  with  the 
scholars  in  the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  who  visit,  when 
they  travel,  the  learned  in  other  countries,  to  carry  with 
them  a  book,  in  which  they  desire  such  persons  to  write 
their  names,  with  some  sentence  or  other.  A  learned 
German  paid  a  visit  to  madame  Dacier,  and  requested  her  to 
write  her  name  and  sentence  in  his  book.  She  seeins:  in 
it  the  names  of  the  greatest  scholars  in  Europe,  told  him, 
that  she  should  be  ashamed  to  put  her  name  among  those 
of  so  many  illustrious  persons ;  and  that  such  presumption 
would  by  no  means  become  her.  The  gentleman  insisting 
upon  it,  she  was  at  last  prevailed  upon  ;  and  taking  her 
pen,  wrote  her  name  with  this  verse  of  Sophocles,  Tvvai^p 
h  a-iyn  (p'epti  ko(T(/.ov,  that  is,  "  Silence  is  the  ornament  of  the 
female  sex."  When  likewise  she  was  solicited  to  publish 
a  translation  of  some  books  of  scripture,  with  remarks 
upon  them,  she  always  answered,  that  "  a  woman  ought 
to  read,  and  meditate  upon  the  scriptures,  and  regu- 
late her  conduct  by  then),  and  to  keep  silence,  agree- 
ably to  the  command  of  St.  Paul."  Among  her  other  lite- 
rary honours,  the  academy  of  llicovrati  at  Padua  chose  her 
one  of  their  body  in  1684.' 

DAHL  (Michael),  a  painter,  was  born  at  Stockholm 
in  1656,  and  came  to  London  at  an  early  age,  being  intro- 
duced into  this  country  by  an  English  merchant,  but  he 
afterwards  travelled  to  Paris,  and  resided  there  some  time. 

1  Gen.  Diet. — Niceron,  vol.  III.— >Saxii  Onomagticon, 


D  A  H  L.  207 

He  then  visited  Italy,  where  he  painted,  amongst  others, 
the  portrait  of  queen  Christina  of  Sweden,  In  1G88  he 
returned  to  England,  where  he  acquired  very  considerable 
reputation  as  a  portrait  painter,  and  was  no  contemptible 
rival  of  sir  Godfrey  Kneller,  with  whom  he  lived  in  habits 
of  friendship.  He  died  in  London  in  1743  at  the  advanced 
ao-e  of  87  years.  His  portraits  of  Addison,  queen  Anne, 
prince  George  of  Denmark,  the  duke  of  Marlborough,  and 
the  duke  of  Ormond,  have  been  engraved.* 

DAILLE  (John),  a  minister  of  the  church  of  Paris,  and 
one  of  the  ablest  advocates  the  protestants  ever  had,   was 
born  at  Chatelleraut,  Jan  6,    1594;  but  carried  soon  after 
to  Poitiers,  where  his  father  usually  lived,  on  account  of 
the  office  which  he  bore  of  receiver  of  the  deposits  there. 
His  father   designed  him  for  business,  and  proposed  to 
leave  him  his  office ;  but  his  strong  attachment  to  books 
made  him  prefer  a  literary  education,  and  when  his  son  had 
attained  his  eleventh  year,  he  sent  him  to  S.  Maixent  in 
Poitou,  to  learn  the  first  rudiments  of  learning.      He  con- 
tinued his  studies  at  Poitiers,  Chatelleraut,  and  Saumur; 
and,  having  finished  his  classical  course  in  the  last  of  those 
towns,  he  entered  on  logic  at  Poitiers,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen,   and   finished   his  course    of  philosophy   at    Saumur 
under  the  celebrated  Mark  Duncan,     He  began  his  theo- 
logical studies  at  Saumur  in  1612;  which,  says  his  son, 
was  indisputably  one  of  the  most  fortunate  years  in  his 
whole  life,  as  in  October  of  it,  he  was  admitted  into  the 
family  of  the  illustrious  mons.  du  Plessis  Mornay,   who  did 
him  the  honour  to  appoint  him  tutor  to  two  of  his  grand- 
sons.    Here,  though  he  discharged  the  trust  he  had  under- 
taken very  well,  yet  it  is  said  that  he  received  more  in- 
struction from  the  grandfather  than  he  communicated  to  the 
grandsons.     Mornay  was  extremely  pleased  with  him,  fre- 
quently read  with  him,  and  concealed  from  him  nothing  of 
whatever  he  knew  ;  so  that  some  have  been  ready  to  im- 
pute the  great  figure  Mr,  Daille  afterwards  made,  to  the 
assistance  he  received  here;  and  it  is  but   reasonable  to 
suppose,  that  Mornay's  advice  and  instructions  contributed 
not  a  little  to  it. 

Daille,  having  lived  seven  years  with  so  excellent  a 
master,  set  out  on  his  travels  with  his  pupils  in  the  autumn 
of  1619,  and  went  to  Geneva;  and  from  thence  through 

'  Walpole's  Anecdotes. 


208  D  A  I  L  L  E. 

Piedmont  and  Lombardy  to  Venice,  where  they  spent  the 
winter.  During  their  abode  in  Italy,  a  melancholy  affair 
happened,  whicli  perplexed  him  not  a  little.  One  of  his 
pupils  fell  sick  at  Mantua ;  and  he  removed  him  with  all 
speed  to  Padua,  where  those  of  the  protestant  religion 
have  more  liberty,  but  here  he  died ;  and  the  difficulty 
was,  to  avoid  the  observation  of  the  inquisitors,  and  re- 
move the  corpse  to  France,  to  the  burial-place  of  his  an- 
cestors. After  much  consideration,  no  more  eligible  plan 
presented  itself  than  to  send  him  under  the  disguise  of  a 
bale  of  merchandize  goods,  or  a  cargo  of  books  ;  and  in  this 
manner  the  corpse  was  conveyed  to  France,  under  the 
care  of  two  of  his  servants ;  not,  however,  without  the  ne- 
cessary safe-conduct  and  passports,  which  were  procured 
for  him  from  the  republic  by  the  celebrated  father  Paul. 
He  then  continued  his  travels  with  his  other  pupil,  visiting 
Switzerland,  Germany,  Flanders,  Holland,  England ;  and 
returned  to  France  towards  the  end  of  1621.  The  son  re- 
lates, that  he  had  often  heard  his  father  regret  those  two 
years  of  travelling,  which  he  reckoned  as  lost,  because  he 
could  have  spent  them  to  better  purpose  in  his  closet ; 
and,  it  seems,  he  would  have  regretted  them  still  more,  if 
he  had  not  enjoyed  the  privilege  at  Venice  of  a  familiar 
acquaintance  with  father  Paul,  the  only  fruit  which  he 
said  he  had  reaped  from  that  journey. — M.  du  Plessis, 
with  whom  that  father  corresponded  by  letters,  had  recom- 
mended to  him  in  a  very  particular  manner  both  his  grand- 
sons and  their  governor;  so  that  M.  Daille  was  immedi- 
ately admitted  into  his  confidence,  and  there  passed  not  a 
day  without  his  enjoying  some  hours  discourse  with  him. 
The  good  father  even  conceived  such  an  affection  for  M. 
Daille,  that  he  used  his  utmost  endeavours  with  a  French 
physician  of  the  protestant  religion,  and  one  of  his  inti- 
mate friends,  to  prevail  with  him  to  stay  at  Venice.  This 
circumstance  of  Daille's  life,  among  many  others,  has  been 
thought  no  inconsiderable  proof,  that  father  Paul  concealed, 
under  the  habit  of  a  monk,  a  temper  wholly  devoted  to 
protestantism  and  its  professors. 

Daille  was  received  minister  in  1623,  and  first  exercised 
his  office  in  the  family  of  du  Plessis  Mornay  :  but  this  did 
not  last  long ;  for  that  lord  fell  sick  a  little  after,  and  died 
the  same  year,  in  the  arms  of  the  new  pastor.  Daille  spent 
the  following  year  in  digesting  some  papers  of  his,  which 
were  afterwards  published  in  two  volumes,  under  the  title 


D  A  I  L  L  E.  20y 

of  "Memoirs."     In    1625   he  was  appointed  minister  of 
the  church  of  Savunur ;   and  the  year  after  removed  to  that 
of  Paris.     Here  he  spe-^t  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  diiVused 
great  liglit  over  the  whole  body,  as  well  by  his  sermons,  as 
by  his  books  of  controversy.     In  1628  he  wrote  his  cele- 
brated book,  "  Ue  I'usage  des  Peres,"  or,  "  Of  the  Use 
of  the  Fathers*;"  but,  on  account  of  some  troubles  which 
seemed   to  be  coming  upon  the  protestants   in  France,    it 
was   not  published  till    1631.     Bayle  has  pronounced   this 
work  a  master- piece  ;  but  it  has  been  attacked  with  great 
severity  by  some,  as  tending  to  lessen  the  just  respect  due 
to  the  fathers,  and  to  the  views  of  religious  opinions  which 
tiiey  exhil)it,   and  which  are  at  least  important  in  point  of 
historical  evidence.     On   the  other  hand,    some  eminent 
scholars,    and   orthodox  chuixhmen  in   England  have  ac- 
knowledged its  high  worth  and  merit;  and  so  early  as  1651 
an  English  translation  of  it  was  published  by  the  learned 
Thomas  ISmith,  B.  D.   fellow  of  Christ's  college  in   Cam- 
bridge.    7\n  advertisement  is  prefixed  to  it,  from  which  we 
transcribe  a  passage  or  two,  as  illustrating  the  translator's 
opinion  and  views  of  the  work:  "The  translation  of  this 
tract,"  says  Mr.  Smith,   "  hath  been  often  attempted,  and 
oftener  desired   by  many  noble   personages    of    this   and 
other  nations  :   among  others  by  sir  Lucius  Cary  late  lord 
viscount  Palkland,   who,   with  his  dear  friend  Mr.  Chilling- 
worth,  made  very  much  use  of  it  in  all  their  writings  against 
the  Romanists.     But  the  papers  of  that  learned  nobleman, 
wherein  this  trans!;ition  was  half  finished,   were  long  since 
involved   in    the   common    loss.     Those  few,    which    have 
escaped  it,  and  the  press,  make  a  very  honourable  men- 
tion of  this  monsieur,  whose  acquaintance  the  said  lord 
was  wont  to  say,  was  worth  a  voyage  to  Paris.     In  page  203 
of  his  Reply,  he  hath  these  words:    *  This  observation  of 
mine  hath  been  confirmed  by  consideration   of  what  hath 
been  so  temperately,  learnedly,  and  judiciously  written  by 
M.  Daill6,  our  protestant   Perron.' — I  shall  add  but  one 
lord's  testimony  more,  namely,  the  lord  George  Digby's, 
in   his  late  Letters  concerning   Religion,  in  these  words, 
p.  27,   28:    'The   reasons  prevalent  with   me,  whereon  an 
enquiring  and  judicious  person   should  be  obliged  to  rely 
and  acquiesce,  are  so  amply  and  so  learnedly  set  down  by 

*  Dr.   Fleetwood,    bishop   of    Ely,     they  were  of  no  use  at  alt."     Richard* 
said  of  this  book,  that  "  he  thought  the     soniaiia,  p.  30o. 
author  had   pretty  sufficiently  proved 

Vol.  XI.  P 


210  D  A  I  L  L  E. 

M.  Daillc  in  his  *  Emploi  des  Peres,'  that  I  tliink  little, 
which  is  material  and  weighty,  can  be  said  on  this  subject, 
that  his  rare  and  piercing  observation  hath  not  anticipated.' 
And  for  myself,  1  must  ingenuously  profess,  that  it  was  the 
reading  of  this  rational  book,  which  hrst  convinced  me 
that  my  study  in  the  French  language  was  not  ill  employed; 
which  hath  also  enabled  me  to  commend  this  to  the 
world,  as  faithfully  translated  l)y  a  judicious  hand."  Mr. 
Mettayer,  who  was  minister  of  St.  Quintin,  published  a 
Latin  translation  of  this  work  3  which  translation  was  re- 
vised and  augmented  with  new  observations,  by  Daille 
himself,  and  was  printed  at  Geneva  in  16.5G. 

In  163.3  he  published  another  work  of  general  concern, 
entitled  *'  L'Apologie  de  nos  Eglises,"  or,  "  An  Apology 
for  the  reformed  Churches  ;"  in  which  he  vindicates,  with 
much  learning  and  argument,  their  separation  from  the 
church  of  Rome,  from  the  imputation  of  schism,  which 
was  usually  brought  against  them.  This  work  was  also 
translated  into  English  by  Mr.  Smith,  in  1658;  as  it  was 
into  Latin  the  same  year  by  Daille  himself,  and  printed  at 
Amsterdcim  in  Svo.  It  was  much  censured  by  the  clergy 
of  France,  as  soon  as  it  was  published,  and  some  were 
employed  to  write  against  it.  Daille  wrote  two  or  three 
little  pieces  in  defence  of  it,  which  were  afterwards  print- 
ed with  it  in  the  Latin  edition.  That  Daillci  was  a  very 
"voluminous  writer,  will  not  seem  strange,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  he  liveil  long,  was  very  laborious,  and  enjoyed 
a  good  state  of  health.  He  was  endued  with  the  qualitica- 
tions  of  a  writer  in  a  most  eminent  degree  ;  and  had  this 
singular  advantage,  that  his  understanding  was  not  im- 
paired with  age  :  for  it  is  observable,  that  there  is  no  less 
strength  and  fire  in  his  two  volumes  "  De  objecto  cultfts 
religiosi,"  the  first  of  which  was  published  when  he  was  70 
years  old,  than  in  any  of  his  earlier  works. 

He  assisted  at  the  national  synod,  which  vvas  held  at 
Alen^on  in  1637  :  and  his  authority  and  advice  contributed 
much  to  quiet  the  disputes,  which  were  then  warmly  agi- 
tated among  the  protestants  concerning  iniivcrsal  grace. 
He  declared  strenuously  for  universal  grace  ;  and  after- 
wards published  at  Amsterdam,  in  165.5,  a  Latin  work 
against  Frederic  Spanheim,  the  divinity  jjrofessor  at  Ley- 
den,  entitled  "  An  apology  for  the  synods  of  Alencon  and 
Charenton."  This  work  rekindled  the  war  among  tiie  pro- 
testant  divines ;  yet  Daillc  endeavoured  to  clear  himself, 


D  A  I  L  L  E.  211 

by  saying,   that  his  book  had  been  published  vvitbont  his 
kno\vled<»-c.       Ntnertheless,    lie   answered   the   celebrated 
Samuel  des  Mart'ts,   professor  of  Groningeu,   which  pro- 
duced a  sliort,    but  very  warm  contest  between   them,   in 
which  Daiile's  spirit  of  controversy  has  not  been  approved 
even  l)y  his  friends.      He  died  at  Paris,   April  15,    1670, 
having  never  experienced  tliroughout  his  life  any  illness, 
except  that  in  1  (),50  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  a  lethargic 
or  apopletic  disoriler,   in  which   he  lay  10  or  11  days,   ap- 
parently  without  a  possibility   of  recovering.      He  left  a 
high  reputation  behind  him  ;  and  the  protestants  used   to- 
say  in  France,  that  "  they  had  no  better  writer  since  Calviti 
than    M.   Daillc."      In    1720,    M.   Kngelschall,    a    Roman 
catholic  clergyman  at  Dresden,   published  proposals  fur  a 
complete  edition  of  Daiile's  works,  for  which  it  is  probable 
lie  had  no  encouragement,  as  we  have  not  been  able  to  lind 
such   a  publication   in   any  catalogue  ;  but  his  proposals, 
which  are  drawn  up  with  great  candour,  will  at  least  enable 
us  to  give  a  more  correct  list  of  Daiile's  works,    with  the 
best  editions.     1.   "  De  Usu  Patrum,"  Geneva,  1056.     2. 
*'  Apologia  ecclesiarum  reformatarum,"  Amst.     3.  *'  Fides 
ex  S.  Scripturis  demonstrata,"   Gen.  IGGO.     4.  "  Exameii 
SententiiTB  Tbeoph.  Bracheti  Milleterii  super  conciliatione 
Controversiaruuj  religionis,"  Paris,  1637.    5.  "  De  Patrum 
fide  circa  imagines,"  Leyden,    1642.     6.   "  De  pcenis   et 
satisfactionibus  humanis,"  Amst.    1649.      7.  "  Pseudepi- 
grapha   Apostolica  de  octo  libris  constitutionum  Aposto- 
licarum,"    Harderw.    1653.     8.   "  De  jcjuniis  et   quadra- 
gesima,"  Daventer,  1654.    9..  "  Pro  duabus  Synodis,  Alen- 
Kon  et  Carenton.  Apologia,"  vVmst.  1655.     10.  <' De  con- 
firmatione  et  cxtrcma  uuctione,"  Genev.  1659.     li.  "  De 
confessione   auriculari,"    Genev.    1661.      12.   "  Adversus 
Latinorum  traditionem  de  cultus  religiosi  objecto,  dispu- 
tatio,"  Gen.  1661.      13.   "  De   Scriptis,  qua?  sub  Dionysii 
Areopagii  et  Igiiatii  nominibus  circnmferunuir,"  Gen.  1666. 
14.   "  De    cultibus     Latinorum    religiosis    Libri   Novem," 
Gen.  1671.     In  all  those  he  has  been  thought  to  be  very 
perspicuous,  both  with   regard  to  the  expression,  anil   to 
the  disposition  of  his  subject.     He  was  reproached  by  one 
of  his  adversaries   with   stealina:   several  ihino-s  frou)    Dr. 
Davenant,  m  his   "  Exposition  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians  ;"  bnt  he  answered  the  charge. 

He  married  in  the  Lower  Poitou,  in  May  1625  ;  and  his 
wife  died  the  3  1st  of  that  month,    1631,  leaving   him  only 

?  2 


212  D  A  I  L  L  E. 

one  son,  born  in  the  house  of  the  Dutch  ambassador,  Oct. 
31,  162S.  She  had  taken  refuge  there,  because  the  pro- 
testants  were  afraid  lest  the  news  of  the  taking  of  Rochelle 
might  excite  popular  tumults.  This  only  son,  whose  name 
was  Hadrian  Daille,  was  received  a  minister  in  1633.  He 
had  continued  his  theoloa:ical  studies  with  his  father  for 
several  vears,  when  the  consistory  of  Rochelle  invited  him 
thither.  Five  years  after,  that  is,  in  1658,  he  was  chosen 
a  minister  of  Paris,  and  became  a  collea2;ue  with  his  father. 
He  was  alive  at  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nainz,  and, 
then  retiring  to  Switzerland,  died  at  Zurich  in  May  1690. 
AW  his  MSS.  among:  which  were  several  works  of  his  fa- 
ther's,  were  carried  to  the  public  library.  He  wrote  that 
abridgement  of  his  father's  life,  from  which  we  have  chiefly 
collected  the  materials  of  this  article. ' 

DAIRVAL.     See  BAUDELOT. 

DAKINS  (William),  one  of  the  translators  of  the  Bible, 
of  whose  family  history  we  have  no  account,  was  educated 
at  \V'estminster  school,  whence  beinii  removed  to  Cam- 
bridge,  he  was  admitted  of  Trinity  college  May  8,  15S7  ; 
chosen  junior  fellow  there  Oct.  3,  1593,  and  senior  fellow 
March  16th  following.  In  1601  he  took  the  degree  of 
B.  D.  and  was  sworn  Greek  lecturer  of  that  college  (an 
annual  office)  Oct.  2,  1602.  In  July  1604  he  was  chosen 
professor  of  divinity  in  Gresham  college,  to  which  he  was 
recommended,  in  tlie  most  honourable  terms,  not  only  by 
the  vice-cliancellor  and  several  heads  of  houses  at  Cam- 
bridge, but  also  by  some  of  the  nobility,  and  even  by  king 
James  I.  in  a  letter  to  the  Gresham  committee.  His  ma- 
jesty's object  seems  to  have  been  that  Mr.  Dakins  should 
not  be  without  a  suitable  provision  while  employed  on  the 
new  translation  of  the  Bible,  undertaken  by  royal  order, 
and  for  a  part  of  which  important  work  Mr.  Dakins  was 
considered  as  excellently  qualified  by  his  skill  in  the 
Oriental  lancruafjes.  The  translators  beinsf  divided  into 
six  classes,  two  of  which  were  to  meet  at  \\'estnnnster, 
two  at  Oxford,  and  two  at  Cambridge,  Mr.  Dakins  was  one 
of  those  at  Westminster,  and  his  part  was  the  Epistles  of 
St.  Paul  and  the  canonical  Epistles.  He  did  not,  however, 
live  to  see  the  work  completed,  as  he  died  in  Feb.  1607, 
a  few  months  after  being  chosen  junior  dean  of  Trinity 
college. ' 

•  NiceroH,  vol.   Ilf.— Gen.  Diet. — Bibl.  Germani/jue,  »ol.  II. — Biouni'i  Cen- 
Jura.^-Saxii  Oaomast.  »  Ward'*  Gnsham  Frofessorj. 


DALE.  213 

DALE  (Samuel),  I\L  D.  an  antiquary  and  botanist,  was 
originally  an  apothecary  at  Braintree  in  Essex,  until  about 
1730,  when  he  became  a  licentiate  of  the  college  of  phy- 
sicians, and  a  fellow  of  the  royal  society,  according  to 
Pulteney,  but  his  name  does  not  appear  in  Dr.  Thomson's 
list.  About  the  time  above-mentioned.  Dr.  Dale  is  sup- 
posed to  have  settled  at  Bocking,  where  he  practised  as  a 
physician  until  his  decease  June  6,  1739,  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  in  the  dissenters'  burying 
ground  at  Bocking.  His  separate  publications  are,  1. 
"  Pharmacologia,  seu  Manuductio  ad  Materiam  Medicam," 
1693,  8vo,  republished  in  1705,  1710,  8vo,  and  1737,  4to,  a 
much  improved  edition.  It  was  also  four  times  printed 
abroad.  The  first  edition  was  one  of  the  earliest  rational 
books  on  the  subject,  and  the  author  attended  so  much  to 
subsequent  publications  and  improvements,  as  to  give  his 
last  edition  the  importance  of  a  new  work.  Scarcely  in 
any  author,  says  Dr.  Pulteney,  is  there  a  more  copious 
collection  of  synonyms,  a  circumstance  which,  indepen- 
dent of  much  other  intrinsic  worth,  will  long  continue  the 
use  of  the  book  with  those  who  wish  to  pursue  the  history 
of  any  article  through  all  the  former  writers  on  the  subject. 
2.  "  The  Antiquities  of  Harwich  and  Dover  Court,"  1730, 
4to,  originally  written  by  Silas  Taylor,  gent,  about  the  year 
1676.  Tliat  part  of  this  work  which  regards  natural  his- 
tory is  so  copious  and  accurate  as  to  render  the  book  a  real 
acquisition  to  science.  Dale  was  also  the  author  of  various 
communications  to  the  royal  society,  which  were  published 
in  the  Philosophical  Transactions.  * 

DALECHAMP  (James),  a  learned  French  physician 
and  indefatigable  botanist,  was  born  at  Caen  in  1 5 1 3,  studied 
medicine  and  botany  at  Montpelier,  was  admitted  doctor  in 
medicine  in  1547,  and  died  at  Lyons,  where  he  had  long 
practised  physic,  in  1588.  He  published  several  elaborate 
translations,  particularly  of  the  fifteen  books  of  Athenoeus 
into  Latin,  in  1552,  in  2  vols.  fol.  illustrated  with  notes 
and  figures  ;  and  some  of  the  works  of  Galen  and  Paul 
Egineta  into  French.  In  1556  he  published  a  translation 
of  "  Coelius  Aurelianus  de  Morbis  acutis ;"  and  in  1569, 
"  Chirurgie  Fran^oise,  avec  plusieurs  figures  d'instrumens,'* 
8vo,  which  has  been  several  times  reprinted.  He  princi- 
pally followed  the  practice  of  Par^e,  from  whose  work  he 

'  Pulteney's  Sketches  of  Botany. 


21  !■  D  A  L  E  C  H  A  M  P. 

borrowed  the  figures  of  the  instruments  ;  but  he  has  added 
a  translation  into  French  of  the  seventh  book  of  Paree,  with 
annotations,  and  some   curious  cases  occurring  in  his  own 
practice.      He  was  also  the  editor  of  an  edition  of  Pliny 
with   notes,  published  in  1587.      His  first  work,  acc<rding 
to  Haller,  was  an  8vo  edition  of  Rucllivis's  Commentary  on 
Dioscorides,  which   appeared  at  Lyons  in  1552,  enriched 
by  Dalechamp  with   thirty  small  figures  of  plants,   at  that 
time  but  little  known.     But  his  principal  performance  in 
this  branch   was  an   universal  history  of  plants,  in  Latin, 
^vith  above   two  thousand   five  hundred  nooclen  cuts,  be- 
sides repetitions,  published  after  his  death  in  two  folio  vo- 
lumes.    The  publisher,  Wdbam    Rouille,  seems    to   take 
upon  hiuiself  the   chief  credit  of  collecting  and  arranging 
the   materials  of  this   great  work,  though  he   allows   tl)at 
Dalechamp  laid  its  first  foundations.      Haller  says  the  latter 
■was  engaged  in  it  for  thirty  years  ;   his  aim  being  to  collect 
together  all   the  botanical  knowledge  of  his  predecessors, 
and  enrich  it  with  his  own  discoveries.     He  employed  John 
Bauhin,   then  a  young  man,   and  resident  at  Lyons,  to  as- 
sist him  ;    but  Baulnn   lieing   obliged  on  account  of  his 
religion   to  leave   France  for  Switzerland,   hke  many  other 
good  and  great  men  of  that  and  the  following  century,  the 
work  in  question  was  undertaken  by    Des    Moulins,  and 
soon  afterwards  Dalechamp  died.      It  is  often  quoted   by 
the  title  of"  Historia  Lugdunensis,"  and  hence  the  merits 
of  its  original  projector  are  overlooked,  as  well  as  the  faults 
arising  from  its  mode  of  compilation,  which  are  in  many 
instances  so  great  as  to  render  it  useless.     A  French  trans- 
lation was  published  in  1615,  and  again  in  1653.     Besides 
these   Dalechatnp  ]:)ublislicd,     1.  "  Carlius  Aurelianus    de 
iiioibis  chronicis,"    Loud.  1579,  Svo  ;   and  2.  An  edition  of 
the  works  of  the  two  Senecas,  the  orator  and  the  philoso- 
pher, with   notes   and  various  readings,  Geneva,  1G2S,   2 
vols.  fol. ' 

DALEN  (CoRNELiu.s  v.\n),  an  eminent  engraver,  who 
flourished  about  the  year  l6i-0,  was  a  native  of  Holland  ; 
but  under  what  master  he  learnt  the  art  of  engraving,  is 
uncertain.  It  is  diflicult  to  form  a  proper  judgment  of  his 
merit;  for  sometimes  his  prints  resemble  those  of  Corne- 
lius   Vischer;  of   Lucas    Vosterman  ;    of   P.    Pontius;  of 

>  Miireri. — Ilillnr     Tiibl.    P.ot. — Freheri    Tlicalrum. — Baillet    Jugemene.— 
KeeB':;  Cyclopa.'dia, — i<axij  Onouiast. 


D  A  L  E  N.  21J 

Bolswert ;  and  other  masters.  A  set  of  antique  statues 
engraved  by  liini,  are  in  a  bold,  freestyle,  as  if  founded 
upon  that  of  Goltzius  ;  otliers  a<ji,ain  seem  imitations  of  that 
ol  Krancis  Poilly.  In  all  these  diH'erent  manners  he  has 
succeeded  ;  and  tliey  plaiidy  manifest  the  great  command 
he  had  with  his  graver,  for  he  worked  with  that  instrument 
only.  He  engraved  a  great  variety  of  portraits,  some  of 
which  are  very  valnable,  and  form  the  best  as  well  as  the 
largest  part  of  his  works. ' 

DA  LIN  (Olaus  von),  a  learned  Swede,  who  was  born 
at  VVird)erga,  in  Holland,  in  1708,  deservedly  obtained 
the  appellation  of  the  fatlicr  of  Swedish  poetry  by  two 
poems  written  in  that  language;  the  one  entitled  "The 
Liberty  of  Sweden,"  published  in  J 743;  the  other  the 
tragedy  of  "  Brindiilda."  He  successively  raised  himself 
to  be  preceptor  to  prince  Gustavus,  counsellor  in  ordinary 
of  the  chancery,  knight  of  the  northern  star,  and  at  last  to 
the  dignity  of  chancellor  of  the  court.  By  command  of 
the  king  he  engaged  to  compile  a  history  of  his  own  coun- 
try from  the  earliest  period  to  the  present  time,  which  he 
accomplished  in  tl)ree  volumes  quarto ;  and  which  was  af- 
terwards translated  into  the  German  language,  Sweden  is 
indebted  to  him  also  for  a  great  number  of  epistles,  satires, 
fables,  thoughts,  and  some  panegyrics  on  the  members  of' 
the  royal  academy  of  sciences,  of  which  he  was  a  principal- 
ornament  :  all  these  have  been  collected  and  printed  in 
6  vols.  There  is  likewise  by  him  a  translation  of  the 
president  Montesquieu,  on  the  Canses  of  the  grandeur  and 
declension  of  the  Romans.  Von  Dalin  died  in  August 
1763,  leaving  a  reputation  for  literature,  which  his  works 
are  thought  to  conhrm.  * 

DALLINGTON  (Sir  Robert),  as  Fuller  informs  us, 
was  born  at  Geddington,  in  the  county  of  Northanipton, 
and  bred  a  bible-clerk  in  Corpus  Christi  college,  Cam- 
bridge; but  \V'ood  has  u)ade  him  a  Greek  scholar  in  Pem- 
broke-iiall.  As  a  contirmation,  however,  of  the  former,  ' 
he  published  "  A  Book  of  Epitaphs,  made  upon  the  death 
of  the  right  worshij)ful  sir  William  Buttes,  knt."  in  loSI), 
which  were  chiefly  composed  by  himself  and  the  members 
of  Corpus.  It  appears  that  he  was  afterwards  placed  in  a 
school  in  Norfolk,  where,  duller  says,  he  gained  so  much 
nionev  as  enabled  him    to   travel   over  France  and  It;ilv. 

>  Strutt.  -  Diet.  Hist, 


216  D  A  L  L  I  N  G  T  O  N. 

Concerning  Italy,  we  have  a  specimen  of  his  accurate  ob- 
servations in   his  "  Survey  of  the    Great  Duke's  State  of 
Tuscany  in  the  year  1596,"  which  was  inscribed  to  hmi  by 
the  publisher,   Edward  Blount,  in  1605,   4to ;  and    in  the 
same  year  appeared  his  "  Method  of  Travel,  shewed  by 
taking  a  view  of  France  as  it  stood   in  159)5,"  4to.     In 
the  preface  he  says  that  he  was  at  the  last  jubilee  at  Rome, 
and  that  "  this  discourse  was  written  long  since,  when  the 
now  lord  secretary  was  then  lord  ambassador,  and  intended 
for  the  private  use  of  an  hon.  gent."     The  second  edition, 
published  in  1629,  contains  the  clause  of  Gujcciardini  de- 
faced   by   the   inquisition,  consisting   of  sjxty-one  pages. 
After   his  return  he  became  secretary  to  Francis   earl  of 
llutland,  then  one  of  the  |)rivy  chamber  to  prince  Charles, 
and  master  of  the  Charter-house,  where  he  introduced  into 
the  school  the  custom  of  versifying  on  passages  of  the  holy 
scripture;  about  which   time  he   had   also  ihe  honour  of 
knighthood   conferred   upon   him.     He   was   incorpqrated 
A.M.  at  Oxford    in  1601,    and  published    "  Aphorismes, 
Civil  and  Military ;  amplified  with  authorities,  and  exem- 
plified with  history  out  of  the  first  quaterne  of  Fr.  Guic- 
ciardini,"   Lond.  1615,  fol.   in    which    he   is   said  to  have 
*'  shown  both  wit  and  judgment."     He  died  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  year   1637,  upwards  of  seventy-six  years  old, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Charter-house  chapel. 

According  to  the  records  of  the  Charter-house,  he  was 
appointed  master  July  9,  1624,  when  he  was  only  in  dea- 
con's orders,  which  was  through  the  recommendation  "  of 
the  most  excellent  prince  of  Wales."  He  is  described  as 
a  man  "  of  good  merit  and  deserte."  The  governors  re- 
solved at  the  same  time  that  no  future  master  should  be 
elected  under  forty  years  of  age ;  or  who  was  not  in  holy 
orders  of  priesthood  two  years  before  his  election  ;  and 
having  not  more  than  one  living,  and  that  within  thirty 
miles  of  London.  Sir  Robert  had  grown  so  very  infirm  in 
1636,  that  the  governors  ordered  three  persons  as  his  as- 
sistants. ' 

DALMATIN  (George),  a  very  learned  Lutheran  divine 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  of  whose  personal  history  little  is 
known,  deserves  notice  as  the  translator  of  Luther's  Ger- 
man Bible  into    the  Sclavonian,    which    language   being 

»  Masters's  Hist,  of  C.  C.  C.C. — Wood's  AtU.  vol.  I.— Malcolm's  LondiDium. — 
Cole's  MS  Atheuae  in  Brit,  Mus. 


D  A  L  M  A  T  I  N.  217 

spoken  in  Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Carniola,  the  states  of 
those  countries  came  to  a  determination  that  this  Bible 
should  be  printed  for  their  use.  They  first  employed  John 
Manlius,  a  [)rinter  of  Lay  bach,  who  was  the  first  that 
printed  the  Sclavonic  in  Roman  letters:  but  while  Manlius 
was  making  his  calculations  of  expence,  &c.  the  archduke 
Charles  of  Austria  forbad  him  to  print  it.  This  appears  to 
have  happened  in  1 580.  The  states,  however,  only  changed 
their  determination  so  far  as  to  have  it  printed  elsewhere, 
and  sent  Dalmatin  for  that  purpose  to  Gratz,  where  he  was 
to  correct  the  press,  after  the  coj)y  had  been  carefully  re- 
vised at  Laybach  by  him,  in  conjunction  with  other  emi- 
nent divines  and  Oriental  scholars.  But,  finding  that  no 
impression  of  this  Bible  would  be  permitted  in  the  Austrian 
dominions,  the  states  sent,  in  April  1583,  Dalmatin,  and 
another  divine,  Adam  Bohoritsch,  to  Wittemberg,  with  a 
recommendation  to  the  elector  of  Saxony,  and  the  work 
being  begun  in  May  1583,  was  finished  Jan.  1,  1584.  They 
had  agreed  with  Samuel  Seelfisch,  bookseller  at  Wittem- 
berg, that  he  should  print  fifteen  hundred  copies,  each 
to  contain  two  hundred  and  eighty  sheets  of  the  largest 
paper,  on  a  fine  character,  with  wooden  cuts ;  for  which 
the  states  of  Carniola  were  to  pay  after  the  rate  of  twenty- 
florins  for  every  bale  of  five  hundred  sheets.  The  expences 
ot  the  impression  of  this  Bible  amounted  to  about  eight 
thousand  fiorins  :  towards  which  the  states  of  Styria  gave  a 
thousand  florins,  those  of  Carinthia  nine  hundred,  and  the 
evangelic  states  of  Carniola  six  thousand  one  hundred. 
These  particulars  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  typographi- 
cal students,  as  it  is  but  seldom  we  have  access  to  the  his- 
tory of  early  printing.  Of  Dalmatin  we  are  only  told  that 
he  aiterwards  was  put  in  possession  of  the  cure  of  St.  Kha- 
zaim,  or  St.  Catiani,  near  Aurspergh,  by  Christopher,  ba- 
ron of  Aurspergh,  in  1585,  who,  when  the  popish  party 
banished  Dalmatin  in  1598,  kept  him  concealed  in  his 
house  ;  and  a  vault  under  the  stable  before  the  castle  used 
long  to  be  shewn  as  the  hole  of  the  preacher."  ' 

DALRYMPLE  (Alkxander),  an  eminent  hydrographer, 
F.  R.  S.  and  F.  S.  A.  was  born  July  24,  1737,  at  New 
Hailes,  near  Edinburgh,  the  seat  of  his  father  sir  James 
Dalrymple,  bart.  of  Hailes.  His  mother,  lady  Christian, 
daughter  of  the  earl  of  Haddington,  a  very  amiable  and 

'  Gen,  Diet.— Le  Long  Bibl.  Sacr. 


218  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

accomplished  woman,  bore  sixteen  children,  all  of  whom 
Alexander,  wlio  was  the  seventh  son,  survived.  He  was 
educated  at  tlie  school  of  Haddington,  nnder  Mr.  David 
Youn"-;  but  as  he  left  school  before  he  was  fourteen  years 
of  age,  and  never  was  at  the  nniversity,  his. schoUistic  en- 
dowments were  very  limitecL  At  school  hfe'liad  the  credit 
of  being  a  good  scholar ;  and,  after  he  left  school,  his 
eldest  brother  was  wont  to  make  him  translate,  off  hand, 
some  of  the  odes  of  Horace  ;  so  that  he  was,  for  his  years, 
a  tolerable  proficient  in  Latin  :  but  going  al)road,  entirely 
his  own  master,  before  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  he 
neglected  his  Latin  ;  and,  as  he  says,  never  found  so 
much  use  for  it  as  to  induce  him  to  take  any  pains  to 
recover  it. 

Sir  James  Dalrymple  died  in  1750;  and  the  hon.  gene- 
ral St.  Clair  having  married  sir  James's  sister,  a  very  sen- 
sible and  accomplished  woman  (the  relict  of  sir  John 
Baird,  bart.),  in  1752,  from  his  intimacy  with  alderman 
Baker,  then  chairman  of  the  East  India  company,  general 
St.  Clair  got  Mr.  Baker's  promise  to  appoint  his  nephew, 
IMr.  Dalrymple,  a  writer  in  the  company's  service  ;  the 
young  man  having  conceived  a  strong  desire  of  going  to 
the  East  Indies,  by  reading  Nieuhofl's  Vo3-agcs,  and  a 
novel  of  that  time,  called  Joe  Thomson.  He  accordingly 
left  Scotland  in  the  spring  of  17.52,  with  his  brother  sir 
David,  who  affectionately  accompanied  him  to  London. 
He  was  put  to  Mr.  Kinross's  academy,  at  Forty-hill, 
near  Enfield,  for  some  months  antecedent  to  his  appoint- 
ment in  the  company's  service.  He  tells  us  he  was  obliged 
to  Mr.  Kinross  for  his  great  kindness  and  attention  to  him, 
and  received  much  jjood  instruction  for  his  conduct  throuoh 
life  ;  by  which  he  greatly  profited  :  but  was  too  short  a 
time  at  that  academy  to  learn  much  of  what  was  the  object 
of  sending  him  there,  viz.  writing  and  merchants' accounts; 
which  are,  at  least  were  at  that  time,  the  only  (pialifica- 
tions  the  East  India  company  thought  requisite  in  their 
servants  :  and  the  absurdity  of  supposing  a  boy  of  sixteen 
from  an  acad(;my  competent  to  keep  a  set  of  merchants' 
books  not  being  considered,  some  demur  was  made  to  Mr. 
Kinross's  certificate  of  this  part  of  Mr.  Dalrymple's  educa- 
tion not  being  expressed  in  terms  sufficiently  direct;  how- 
ever, this  was  not  insisted  on. 

On  the  1st  of  November,  1752,  he  was  appointed  a 
writer  in  the  East  India  company's  service,  and  on   the 


D  A  L  li  Y  M  P  L  E,  219 

8th  of  November,  stationed  on  the  Madras  establishment. 
Alderman  Baker  ditiqualilied  early  the  next  year;  so  that 
it  was  by  a  very  aecicUMital  contingonce  that  i\Jr.  Dah'}  ni])le 
went  to  India,  Ijis  tamil}'  havinjj,-  no  India  connexions  ;  inure 
jDarticuhirly  as  he  wanted  a  few  months  of  sixteen  years  of 
age,  which  was  tlie  age  reqnircd  for  a  writer  to  l)e  :  and 
his  n)other  lady  Christian  strongly  objected  to  his  father's 
son  even  tacitly  assenting  to  countenance  what  was  untrue; 
and  she  was  not  quite  satisiied  with  being  assured  that  it 
was  with  alderman  Baker's  concurrence  and  approbation  ; 
it  being  urged,  that  the  spirit  of  the  regulation  was  to  pre- 
vent infants  being  introduced  into  the  service  as  writers, 
and  not  to  preclude  a  person  for  the  difference  of  a  few 
months  in  age.  "  This,"  says  our  author,  "  is  the  oidy 
instance  in  wiiich  Alexander  Dalrymple  is  conscious  of  hav- 
ing been  accessary  to  cheating  the  company-,  if  it  can  be 
so  termed,'" 

About  the  middle  of  December,  he  embarked  at  Graves-^ 
end  on  board  the  Suffolk  Indiaman,  commanded  by  captain 
William  Wilson,  and  the  vessel  sailed  from  the  Downs 
Dec.  25,  1752,  and  arrived  at  Madias  on  May  11.  At 
first  Mr.  Dairy mple  was  put  under  the  store-keeper,  but 
was  soon  after  removed  to  the  secretary's  office,  and  on 
lord  Pigot's  being  appointed  governor,  was  noticed  by  his 
lordship  with  great  kindness,  as  well  as  by  Mr.  Orme,  the 
historian,  then  a  member  of  council  and  accountant,  who 
contiiuied  his  friendship  to  him  during  the  remainder  of 
Ijis  life.  While  in  the  secretary's  office,  examining  the 
old  records,  to  quality  himself,  by  the  knowledgi.'  of  them, 
to  fill  the  office  of  secretary,  which  he  was  in  succession  to 
expect,  he  found  the  commerce  of  the  eastern  islands  was 
an  object  of  great  consideration  with  the  company,  and  he 
was  inspired  with  an  earnest  desire  to  recover  that  impor- 
tant object  for  this  country. 

A  favourable  o|)portnnity  offered  for  putting  this  info 
train  :  his  old  friend  captain  Wilson,  who  was  appointed 
by  the  East  India  company  commodore  of  all  tht  ir  ships 
and  vessels,  and  commander  of  the  Pitt,  of  50  guns,  for 
his  good  and  gallant  conduct,  arrived  in  September  1758, 
having  on  board  sir  William  (then  colonel)  l)ra|)er,  and 
part  of  his  regiment.  7'he  Pitt  was  destineil  for  China. 
Commodore  Wilson,  whose  sagacity  and  maritime  know- 
ledge was  equal  to  his  courage,  had  reHected  during  tho 
course  of  his  voyage   from  England,  in   what  manner  his 


220  D  A  L  R  y  M  P  L  E. 

passage  to  China  could  be  attained  at  that  season  ;  and  it 
occurred  to  him,  that  the  same  principle  by  which  ships 
went  to  the  Malabar  coastand  Persia  from  Madras  in  the  south 
west  monsoon,  was  applicable  in  a  passage  to  China,  viz. 
by  crossing  the  line,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  contrary 
monsoons  that  prevail  at  the  same  time  in  north  and  south 
latitudes.  Thus,  as  the  ships  from  Madras  stand  to  the  south 
east  with  the  south  west  winds,  till  they  get  into  the  south 
east  trade  in  south  latitude,  and  then  stand  westward,  till 
they  are  to  windward  of  their  intended  port,  when  they 
cross  the  line  again  into  north  latitude  ;  so  commodore 
Wilson  reasoned,  that  the  north-west  winds  would,  in 
south  latitude,  carry  him  far  enough  eastward  to  n)ake  the 
north-east  wind  a  fair  wind  to  China.  Sir  William  Draper 
countenancing  his  opinion,  commodore  Wilson,  on  his  ar- 
rival at  Madras,  mentioned  the  subject  to  Mr.  Dalrymple, 
and  asked  his  sentiments  ;  which  entirely  concurring  with 
his  own,  and  being  confirmed  by  reference  to  Saris,  &c. 
who  had  performed  the  most  essential  part  of  the  voyage, 
though  with  a  different  object;  commodore  Wilson  was 
thereby  induced  to  propose  it  to  governor  Pigot,  who  con- 
sulted Mr.  Dalrymple,  and  being  convinced  that  it  was 
practicable,  commodore  Wilson  performed  tlie  voyage 
highly  to  the  credit  of  our  maritime  reputation,  and  much 
to  the  advantage  of  the  company. 

Circumstances  occurred  in  the  discussion  of  the  propo- 
sition made  by  commodore  W^ilson,  which  induced  Mr. 
Dalrymple  to  propose,  and  governor  Pigot  to  accede  to, 
his  going  in  the  Cuddalore  schooner  to  the  eastward,  on  a 
voyage  of  general  observation,  although  it  had  a  particular 
destination  ;  but  as  the  secretaryship  became  vacant  in 
1759,  lord  Pigot,  thinking  that  place  a  more  beneficial 
object,  endeavoured  to  dissuade  Mr.  Dalrymple  from  the 
vo3'age,  but  without  success,  as  he  remained  warm  in  the 
pursuit  of  an  o!)ject  of  whose  national  iuaportance  he  had 
long  been  convinced,  and  considered  this  voyage  as  a  new 
aera  in  his  life. 

As  the  Cuddalore  went  under  the  secret  orders  of  the 
governor,  it  was  not  thought  proper  to  apply  to  the  coun- 
cil for  the  provision  of  such  a  cargo  as  was  necessary  ia 
countries  where  there  was  no  regular  communication  or 
commerce ;  and  where  even  provisions  could,  probably, 
only  be  purchased  by  barter  ;  a  small  cargo  was  j)ut  on 
board  at  the  cxpencc  of  the  goveriior,  who  permitted  cap- 


D  A"L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  221 

tain  Bal<er,  the  captain,  to  have  a  fourth  concern.  The 
evening  before  Mr.  Dalrymple  embarked,  governor  Pigot 
presented  him  witii  an  instrument,  making  iiim  a  present 
of  whatever  profits  might  accrue  from  tlie  three- fourths 
concern.  Having  never  insinuated  such  an  intention,  he 
left  no  ground  for  mercenary  imputation  against  Mr.  Dal- 
rymple, in  undertaking  the  voyage,  or  against  the  gover- 
nor himself  for  ordering  it.  In  consequence  of  an  offer 
made  by  the  hon.  Thomas  Howe,  conuuander  of  that  ship, 
he  first  embarked  in  the  Winchelsea,  April  22,  1759,  and 
having  joined  the  Cuddalore,  captain  George  Baker,  in 
the  strait  of  Malacca,  whither  that  vessel  had  been  dis- 
patched a  few  (lays  before  the  Winchelsea,  Mr.  Dalrymple 
quitted  tlie  Winchelsea,  and  embarked  on  the  Cuddalore 
June  3,  in  the  Strait  of  Sincapore. 

It  cannot  be  pretended  to  give  a  recital,  however  brief, 
of  the  course  of  this  voyage,  of  which  Mr.  Dalrynqiie  did 
not  publish  any  connected  journal,  but  it  was  in  this 
voyage  the  English  visited  Sooloo.  Mr.  Dalrymple  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  the  sultan,  and  made  a  contract  with 
the  principal  persons,  for  a  cargo  to  be  brought  on  the 
East  India  company's  account,  which  the  natives  engaged 
to  receive  at  100  per  cent,  profit,  and  to  provide  a  cargo 
for  China,  which  they  engaged  should  yield  an  equivalent 
profit  there.  The  principal  person  with  whom  this  con- 
tract was  negociated,  was  Dato  Bandahara,  the  head  and 
representative  of  the  nobility  ;  for  the  Sooloo  government 
is  a  mixed  monarchy,  in  which,  though  the  principal  no- 
bility and  orankv's  meet  in  the  national  council  to  delibe- 
rate, the  authority  is  vested  in  a  few  officers,  who  are 
hereditary,  the  Sultan,  Dato  Bandahara,  who  represents 
the  nobility,  and  Cranky  Mallick,  who  represents  the 
people ;  matters  of  government  depending  on  the  con- 
currence of  two  of  the  states,  of  which  the  people  must  be 
one. 

The  person  then  filling  the  hereditary  office  of  Banda- 
hara, was  as  conspicuous  for  the  probity  and  exalted  justice 
of  his  character,  as  by  his  distinguished  rank,  of  which, 
whilst  Mr.  Dalryjiiple  was  at  Sooloo,  in  1761,  an  occasion 
occurred  for  Bandahara  to  exert.  There  were  at  this  time 
two  Chinese  junks  in  Sooloo  road;  in  the  cargo  of  one  of 
them  the  sultan  had  an  interest ;  the  other  belonged  en- 
tirely to  Chinese  merchants  of  Amoy.  The  sultan,  who 
was  very  avaricious,  in  hopes  of  getting  money  from  the 


D  A  L  R  Y  ]\I  P  L  E. 

Chinese,  or  thinking,  perhaps,  that  it  would  be  more  ad- 
vantageous for  the  sale  of  the  cargo  in  which  he  was  con- 
cerned, laid  an  embargo  on  the  other  junk  :  Baudahara 
and  Oranky  iMallick  remonstrated  with  the  sultan  on  the 
impropriety  of  this  behaviour  to  mercliants,  but  without 
effect;  upon  wliich  Bandahara,  and  Oranky  Mallick,  with 
Pangleema  iMihiham,  a  person  of  a  military  order,  conso- 
nant to  ancient  knighthood,  went  on  board  the  China 
junk,  in  which  the  sultan  had  an  interest,  and  brought  her 
rudder  on  shore,  iufornjino-  the  sultan  that  they  would  de- 
tain  the  one  if  he  obstructed  the  departure  ot  the  other : 
this  well-timed  interference  had  its  due  effect,  antl  both 
junks  proceeded  without  further  molestation  on  their  voyage 
liume. 

He  returned  to  Madras  from  this  eastern  voyage,  Jan. 
2S,  1762.  The  company's  administration  approved  of  his 
proceedings,  and  in  March  1762,  having  resolved  to  send 
on  the  company's  account  the  cargo  stipulated,  employed 
liiin  in  expediting  the  provision  of  that  cargo.  His  ex- 
pences  in  the  voyage  of  almost  three  years,  amounted  to 
G12/.  which  was  repaid  by  the  governor  and  council  of 
IVIadras,  but  he  neither  asked  or  received  any  pecuniary 
advantage  to  himself.  On  the  1 0th  of  May,  the  London 
packet  was  destined  for  the  Sooloo  voyage,  and  Mr.  DaU 
rymple  was  appointed  captain.  In  the  passage  from  Mad- 
ras to  Sooloo,  he  hrst  visited  Balambangan;  and  on  his 
arrival  at  Sooloo,  found  the  small-pox  had  swept  otf  n)any 
of  the  principal  inhabitants,  and  dispersed  the  rest;  so  that 
very  ineffectual  measures  had  been  taken  towards  pro- 
viding the  intended  cargo.  But  although  this  unexpected 
calamitj^,  which  in  the  Eastern  Islands  is  similar  in  its  ef- 
fects to  the  j)lague,  was  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  disap- 
pointment of  tlie  cargo,  yet  a  still  more  efficient  cause, 
was  the  death  of  Bandahara,  soon  after  Mr.  Dalrymple's 
departure  from  Sooloo,  the  preceding  year.  A  few  days 
before  the  death  of  this  good  man,  he  sent  for  the  linguist 
whom  Mr.  Dal  rymple  had  employed,  and  who  had  re- 
mained behind  at  Sooloo,  asking  if  he  thought  the  English 
would  certainly  come  again.  The  linguist  declaring  that 
it  was  not  to  be  doubted  ;  Bandahara  thereupon  expressed 
liis  concern,  saying  that  it  would  have  made  him  very- 
happy  to  have  li^cd  to  have  seen  this  contract  faithfully 
performed  on  tlieir  part,  and  the  friendship  with  the  Eng- 
lish established  on  a  firm  footing.     The  linguist  observed^ 


D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  223 

that  they  were  all  equally  b(Hiiul.  Baiuluhara  replied,  that 
altlioiiii;h  this  was  true,  all  iiad  not  the  same  liispositiou  ; 
and  j)erhajjs  none  else  the  jjower  of  enforcing  the  due 
execution  of  tlieir  engagcaienls  ;  but  that  he  was  resigned 
to  the  divine  will. 

'I'iiis  situation  of  affairs  at  Sooloo,  made  new  arranfre- 
ments  necessary,  the  result  of  which  was,  that  one  lialf  of 
the  cargo  brought  thither  in  the  London  should  he  de- 
livered, to  enable  the  Sooloos  to  provide  goods  for  the 
expected  Indiaman  ;  hut  that  ship  not  arriving,  new  dilK- 
culties  arose;  as  the  London  was  not  lari>e  enouuh  to  re- 
ceive  the  goods  they  had  provided  ;  and  the  necessitv  of 
lier  departure  made  it  indispensable  to  deliver  the  remaining 
halt  of  the  cargo,  which  had  l)een  retained  as  an  incite- 
ment to  the  Sooloos  faithfully  to  pay  for  that  jjortion  they 
had  received.  By  delivery  of  the  remainder,  every  thing 
was  necessarily  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  Sooloos,  subjected 
not  only  to  their  honour,  but  to  their  discretion  ;  for  if 
the  goods  they  received  were  dissipated,  they  could  ob- 
tain no  cargo  in  return,  having  nothing  to  deliver  to  their 
vassals  for  their  services,  without  which  they  were  not  en- 
titled to  those  services.  ])alrymple,  however,  obtained  a 
grant  of  the  island  of  Balambangan,  for  the  East  India 
company,  of  which  he  took  possession  Jan.  23,  1763,  on 
liis  return  towards  Madras,  and  as  it  appeared  necessary 
that  the  court  of  directors  should  have  full  information  on 
the  sid))ect  of  our  future  intercourse  in  the  eastern  islands, 
he  determined  to  proceed  to  England  for  that  purpose. 
But  as  the  president  and  council  thought  it  proper  that  he 
should  proceed  again  to  Sooloo  in  tlie  Neptune  Indiaman, 
in  the  way  to  China,  and  embark  thence  for  England,  he 
accordingly  sailed  Irom  Madras  July  5,  1763.  Many  cir- 
cumstances, however,  [)revented  the  execution  of  every 
part  of  this  plan,  and  he  appears  to  have  been  disappointed 
in  his  views  respecting  the  intercourse  with  the  eastern 
islands,  the  advantages  of  which  he  afterwards  fully  stated 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  A  Plan  for  extending  the  com- 
merce, (Sec."  published  in  1771,   though  printed  in  17C9. 

Soonafterhisarrival  home  in  1 765,  discoveries  in  the  South 
Sea  being  a  favourite  object  of  Mr.  Dalryniple's  researches, 
he  communicated  his  collections  on  that  subject  to  the  se- 
cretary of  state,  lord  Shelbtniie,  late  n^artj-iis  o(  Lans- 
duwne,  who  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  eni])!oy  him  on 
these    discoveries.      Afterwards,    when   the    royal    society 


224  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

proposed  to  send  persons  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus, 
in  1769,  Mr.  Dalrymple  was  approved  of  by  the  admiralty, 
as  a  proper  person  to  be  employed  in  this  service,  as  well 
as  to  prosecute  discoveries  in  that  quarter  ;  but  from  some 
differences  of  opinion,  partly  owing  to  Oilicial  etiquette,  re- 
specting the  employment  of  any  person  as  commander  of 
a  vessel  who  was  not  a  naval  officer,  and  partly  owing  to 
Mr.  Dalrymple's  objections  to  a  divided  command,  this 
design  did  not  take  place.  In  that  year,  however,  the 
court  of  directors  of  the  East  India  company  gave  Mr.  Dal- 
rymple 5000/.  for  his  past  services,  and  as  an  equivalent 
to  the  emoluments  of  secretary  at  Madras,  which  he  had 
relinquished  in  1759,  to  proceed  on  the  eastern  voyage. 
As  the  various  proceedings  concerning  Balambangan  were 
published  in  1769,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  notice  in  this 
place  that  the  court  of  directors  appointed  Mr.  Dalrymple 
chief  of  Balambangan,  and  conunandcr  of  the  Britannia; 
but  some  unhappy  differences  arising  with  the  directors, 
he  was  removed  from  the  charjre  of  that  intended  settle- 
inent,  and  another  person  appointed  in  his  stead.  In  177  1, 
however,  the  court  of  directors  bein^  dissatisfied  with  this 
person's  conduct,  had  it  in  contemplation  to  send  a  super- 
visor thither.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Dalrymple  made  an 
offer  of  his  services  to  redeem  the  expedition  from  destruc- 
tion, without  any  emolument  except  defraying  his  ex- 
pences,  on  condition  that  a  small  portion  of  the  clear  profits 
of  the  establishment  should  be  granted  to  him  and  his  heirs, 
&c.  But  this  offer  was  not  accepted,  and  soon  after  the 
settlement  of  Balambangan  was  lost  to  the  company. 

F'rom  the  time  Mr.  Dalrymple  returned  to  ICngland,  in 
1765,  he  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  collecting  and 
arranging  materials  for  a  full  exposition  of  the  imjiortance 
of  the  Eastern  Islands  and  South  Seas  ;  and  was  encou- 
raged by  the  court  of  directors  to  publish  various  charts, 
&c.  It  is  positively  affirmed  that  the  chart  of  the  northern 
part  of  tlie  Bay  of  Bengal,  published  in  1772,  was  the  oc- 
casion of  saving  the  Hawke  Indiaman  from  the  French,  in 
the  war. 

Mr.  Dalrymple  had  taken  every  occasion  to  keep  up  his 
claim  on  the  Madras  establishment ;  but  after  lord  Pigot 
was,  in  1775,  appointed  governor  of  Fort  St,  George,  he 
was  advised  by  the  then  chairman  and  deputy  chairman, 
to  make  a  specific  application  before  the  arrangement^  of 
the  Madras  council  was   made,   his  former  letters  being 


D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  225 

considered  as  too  general.  Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of 
March,  1775,  he  applied  lo  be  restored  to  his  standing  on 
the  Madras  establishment ;  which  application  the  company 
were  pleased  to  comply  with,  and  he  was  appointed  in  his 
rank,  as  a  member  ot"  council,  and  was  nominated  to  be 
one  of  the  committee  of  circuit.  In  the  proceedings  of 
the  council  at  Madras,  no  man,  however  violent  in  his 
animositv  or  opposition,  ever  imputed  to  Mr.  Dalrymple 
any  want  of  integrity  or  zeal,  for  what  he  thought  was  for 
the  company's  interest,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction  to  find 
that  the  court  of  directors  jjave  him  distinguished  marks  of 
their  up|)robaLion.  On  the  1st  of  April,  ill'J,  when  the 
company  were  pleased  to  accept  of  his  services  in  the  em- 
ployment he  held  until  his  death,  namely,  thatof  hydrogra- 
pher,  by  advice  of  sir  George  Wombwell,  the  then  chairman, 
lie  accepted  on  the  8th  that  employment  by  letter,  read  iu 
court  on  the  yth  of  April,  on  condition  it  should  not  inva- 
lidate his  pretensions  at  Madras. 

On  the  27th  of  May  1780,  the  court  of  directors  re- 
solved that  Messrs.  Russell,  Dalrymple,  Stone,  and  La- 
thom,  having  come  home  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  of 
the  general  court,  in  17  77,  to  have  their  conduct  inquired 
into,  and  no  objection  having  been  made  in  so  long  a  time, 
nor  appearing  against  their  conduct,  should  be  again  em- 
ployed in  the  company's  service.  The  other  gentlemen 
were  afterwards  appointed  to  chiefships,  Mr.  Dalrymple 
continuing  in  his  present  employment,  with  the  reservation 
of  his  Madras  pretensions.  When  the  employment  of  hy- 
drographer  was  confirmed  on  the  19th  of  Ju^ly,  he  ex- 
pressed by  letter,  that  he  trusted,  if  he  wished  to  return 
to  Madras  hereafter,  that  the  court  would  appoint  him, 
and  this  letter  was  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 

In  1784,  when  the  India  bill  was  brought  into  parlia- 
ment, there  was  a  clause  precluding  the  company  from 
sending  persons  back  to  India,  who  had  been  a  certain  time 
in  England;  Mr.  Dalrymple  represented  the  injustice  this 
was  to  him,  who  had  accepted  his  employment,  on  con- 
dition that  it  should  not  injure  his  pretensions  at  Madras; 
a  clause  was  thereupon  inserted,  precluding  that  measure, 
unless  with  the  concurrence  of  three-fourths  of  the  direc- 
tors, and  three-fourths  of  the  proprietors  ;  he  was  still  not 
satisfied,  and  carried  on  a  sort  of  controversial  correspond- 
ence with  the  directors,  the  merits  of  which  would  now 
be  but  imperfectly  understood. 

Vol.  XI.  Q 


226  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

It  having  been  long  in  contemplation  to  have  an  hydro- 
graphical  office  at  the  Admiralty,  this  wa^  at  len^jili  esta- 
blished during  the  administration  of  earl  Spencer.  In  1795 
Mr.  Dalrymple  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  hydrogra- 
pher,  and  received  the  assent  of  the  court  of  directors, 
under  whom  he  held  a  similar  office,  and  who  had  lately 
given  him  a  |)ension  for  life. 

From  this  time  little  occurred  in  his  history  worthy  of 
particular  notice  until  the  month  of  May  1808,  when  hav- 
ing refused  to  resign  his  place  of  hydrographer  to  the  Ad- 
miralty, on  the  ground  of  superannuation,  and  to  accept  of 
a  pension,  he  was  dismissed  from  his  situation  ;  and  it  is 
said,  that  in  the  opinion  of  his  medical  attendants,  his 
deatli  was  occasioned  by  vexation  arising  from  that  event. 
A  motion  was  shortly  afterwards  made  on  this  subject  in  the 
house  of  commons,  when  the  secretary  to  the  admiralty, 
after  bearing  the  most  ample  testimony  to  the  talents  and 
services  of  INIr.  Dalrymple,  fully  justified  the  conduct  of 
that  board,  which  had  adopted  a  necessary  measure  ^ith 
much  reluctance.  Mr.  Dalrymple,  indeed,  had  exhibited 
so  many  symptoms  of  decayed  faculties,  joined  to  an  irrita- 
ble haljit,  as  to  lessen  the  value  of  those  services  for  which 
he  had  been  so  highly  respected.  He  died  June  19,  1S08, 
at  his  house  in  High-street  Mary-le-bone,  and  was  buried 
in  the  small  cemetery  adjoining  the  church.  His  collection 
Cff  books  was  very  large  and  valuable,  and  particularly 
rich  in  works  pertaining  to  geography  and  navigation, 
which  were  purchased  by  the  admiralty.  His  valuable  col- 
lection of  poetry  he  bequeathed  to  his  heir  at  law,  to  be 
kept  at  the  family  seat  in  Scotland,  as  an  heir-loom ;  and 
his  miscellaneous  collection,  containing,  among  others,  a 
great  number  of  valuable  foreign  books,  particularly  in  the 
Sjjanish  and  Portuguese  languages,  was  sold  by  auction, 
and  produced  a  considerable  sum. 

His  printed  wtnks  were  very  numerous.  The  following 
list,  exclusive  of  his  nautical  publications,  was  furnished 
by  himself  at  the  end  of  some  memoirs  of  his  life,  which 
he  .'rew  up  for  the  European  magazine  in  18U2,  and  of 
which  we  have  availed  ourselves  in  the  preceding  account. 
In  the  following  list,  those  marked  *  were  never  published, 
and  those  marked  f  were  not  sold. 

1.  **  Account  of  Discoveries  in  the  South  Pacific  Ocean 
before  1764,"  1767,  8vo.  2.  t  "  Memorial  to  the  Pro- 
prietors of  East  India  Stock,"  1768,  8vo.     3.  f  "  Account 


r>  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  227 

of  what  has  passed  between  the  East  India  Directors  and 
Alexander  Dalrymple,"  as  first  printed,  1768,  Hvo.  4.  "Ac- 
count of  what  lias  passed — Do. — Do. — as  published,"  8vo. 
5.  "  Plan  ibr  extending  the  Commerce  of  this  Kingdom, 
and  of  the  East  India  Company,  by  an  Establishment  at 
Balambangan,"  1771.  6.  *  *'  Letter  concerning  the  pro- 
posed Supervisors,"  20th  June  I76y,  8vo.  7.  "  Letter 
concerning  the  proposed  Supervisors,"  30th  June  1769, 4to- 
8.  Second  Letter — Do. — 10th  July  1769,  4to.  9.  "  Vox 
populi  Vox  Dei,  lord  Weymouth's  Appeal  to  the  General 
Court  of  India  Proprietors,  considered,  14th  August,"  1769, 
4to.  10.  "  Historical  collection  of  South  Sea  Voyages," 
1770,  2  vols.  4to  ;  1771,  4to.  11.  f  "  Proposition  of  a 
benevolent  Voyage  to  introduce  Corn,  &c.  into  New  Zea- 
land," &c.  1771,  4to.  12.  Considerations  on  a  Pamphlet 
(by  governor  Johnstone)  entitled  "  Thoughts  on  our  ac- 
quisitions in  the  East  Indies,  particularly  respecting  Ben- 
oal"  1772,  8vo.  13.  *' General  View  of  the  East  India 
Company's  Affairs  (written  in  January'  1769),  to  which  are 
added  some  Observations  on  the  present  State  of  the  Com- 
pany's Afiairs,"  1772,  8vo.  14.  t  "  A  paper  concerning 
the  General  Government  for  India,"  8vo.  15.  t  "  Rights 
of  the  East  India  Company," — N.  B.  This  was  printed  at 
the  company's  expencc,  1773,  Svo.  16.  "Letter  to  Dr. 
Hawkesworth,"  1773,  4to.  17.  *"  Observations  on  Dr. 
Hawkesworth's  Preface  to  2d  edition,"  1773,  4to.  An 
opinion  of  sir  David  Dalrymple,  that  there  was  too  much 
asperity  in  this  Reply,  retarded,  and  the  death  of  Dr. 
Hawkesworth  prevented,  the  publication.  18.  f  "  Memo- 
rial of  Doctor  Juan  Louis  Arias   (in  Spanish),"    1773,  4to. 

19.  t  "  Proposition  for  printing,  by  subscription,  the  MS 
voyages  and  travels  in  the  British  Museum,"    1773,    4to. 

20.  "  A  full  and  clear  proof  that  the  Spaniards  have  no 
right  to  Balambangan,"  1774,  Svo.  21.  "An  historical 
relation  of  the  several  Expeditions,  from  Fort  Marlbro'  to 
the  Islands  off  the  West  Coast  of  Sumatra,"  177  5,  4to. 
22.  "  Collection  of  Voyages,  chiefly  in  the  South  Atlantic 
Ocean,  from  the  original  MSS.  by  Dr.  Halley,  M.  Bouvet, 
&.C.  with  a  Preface  conctrning  a  Voyage  on  Discover}', 
proposed  to  be  undertaken  by  Alexander  Dalrymple  at  hi* 
own  expence ;  Letters  to  Lord  North  on  the  subject,  and 
Plan  of  a  Republican  Colony,"  1775,  4to.  23  f'"  Copies 
of  papers  relative  to  the  Restoration  of  the  King  of  T^n- 
jour,  the  Imprisonment  of  Lord  Pigot,    &,c.     Printed  hf 


228  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E, 

the  East  India  Company,  for  the  use  of  the  Proprietors." 

1777,  4to. — N.  B.  In  this  collection  are  many  Minutes  of 
Council,  and  some  Letters  by  Alexander  Dalrymple. 
24.  t  Several  other  pieces  on  the  same  subject,  written  by 
Alexander  Dalrj^mple,  were  printed  by  admiral  Pigot  and 
Alexander  Dalrymple,  but  not  sold  ;  those  particularly  by 
Alexander  Dalrymple  are  4to,  1777.  25.  *'  Notes  on  Lord 
Pigot's  Narrative.''  26.  *'  Letter  to  Proprietors  of  East 
India  Stock,"  8th  May  1777.  27.  "  Account  of  the  trans- 
actions concerning  the  Revolt  at  Madras,  30th  April  1777. 
Appendix.'*  28.  *' Letter  to  the  Covut  of  Directors,  19th 
June  1777. — Memorial — 19th  June  1777."  29.  t  "Ac- 
count of  the  subversion  of  the  Legal  Government  of  Fort 
St.  George,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Andrew  Stuart's  Letter  to 
the  Court  of  Directors,"  1778,  4to.  30.  "Journal  of 
the  Grenville,"  published  in  the  Philosophical  Transac- 
tions, 1778,  4to.  31.  "  Considerations  on  the  present 
State  of  Affairs  between  England  and  America,  1778,"  8vo. 
32.  '<  Considerations  on  the  East  India  Bill,   1769,"   8vo, 

1778.  33.  "  State  of  the  East  India  Company,  and 
Sketch  of  an  equitable  Agreement,"  1780,  8vo.  34.  "Ac- 
count of  the  Lossof  the  Grosvenor,"  1783,  8vo.  35.  "Re- 
flections on  the  present  State  of  the  East  India  Company," 
1783,  8vo.  36.  "  A  short  account  of  the  Gentoo  Mode  of 
collecting  the  Revenues  on  the  Coast  of  Coromandel," 
1783,  Svo.  37.  "  A  Retrospective  View  of  the  Ancient 
System  of  the  East  India  Company,  with  a  Plan  of  Regu- 
lation," 1784,  Svo.  38.  "  Postscript  to  Mr.  Dalrymple's 
account  of  the  Gentoo  Mode  of  collecting  the  Revenues 
on  the  Coast  of  Coromandel,  being, — Obsenations  made 
on  a  perusal  of  it  by  Moodoo  Kistna,"  1785,  Svo.  39.  "Ex- 
tracts from  Juvenilia,  or  Poems  by  George  Wither,"  1785, 
24mo.  40.  "  Fair  State  of  the  Case  between  the  East 
India  Company  and  the  Owners  of  Ships  now  in  their 
service ;  to  which  are  added, — Considerations  on  Mr. 
Brough's  Pamphlet,  concerning  East  India  Shipping," 
178-6,  Svo.  41.  "  A  serious  Admonition  to  the  Public  on 
the  intended  Thief  Colony  at  Botany  Bay."  42.  "  Re- 
view of  the  Contest  concerning  Four  New  Regiments,  gra- 
ciously offered  by  his  Majesty  to  be  sent  to  India,"  &c. 
1788,  8vo.  43.  *  "  Plan  for  promoting  the  Fur- trade,  and 
securing  it  to  this  Country,  by  uniting  the  Operations  of 
the  East  India  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies,"  1789,  4to. 
44.  *  "  Memoir  of  a  Map  of  the  Lands  around  the  North 


D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  229 

Pole,"  1789,  4to.  45.  "An  Historical  Journal  of  the 
Expeditions  by  Sea  and  Land,  to  the  North  of  California 
in  1768,  176L>,  and  1770,  when  Sj^anish  establishments 
were  first  made  at  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  translated 
from  the  Spanish  MS.  by  William  Kevely,  esq.  to  which  ia 
added, — Translation  of  Cabrera  Bueno's  Description  of  the 
Coast  of  California,  and  an  Extract  from  the  MS  Journal 
of  M.  Sauvague  le  Muet,  1714,"  1790,  4to.  46.  "A  Let- 
ter to  a  Friend  on  the  Test  Act,"  1790,  8vo.  47.  "  The 
Spanish  Pretensions  fairly  discussed,"  17  90,  Svo.  48,  "The 
Spanish  Memorial  of  4th  June  considered,"  1790,  Svo. 
49.  j  "  Plan  for  the  publication  of  a  Repertory  of  Orien- 
tal Information,"  1790,  4to.  50.  *"  Memorial  of  Alex- 
ander Dalrymple,"  1791,  Svo.  51.  "  Parliamentary  Re- 
form, as  it  is  called,  improper,  in  the  present  State  of  this 
Country,"  1793,  Svo.  52.  "  Mr.  Fox's  Letter  to  his  wor- 
thy and  independent  Electors  of  Westminster,  fully  con- 
sidered," 1793,  Svo.  53.  t  "  Observations  on  the  Cop- 
per-coinage wanted  for  the  Circars.  Printed  for  the  use 
of  the  East  India  Company,"  1794,  Svo.  54.  "  The  Poor 
Man's  Friend,"  1795,  Svo.  55.  "  A  collection  of  English 
Songs,  with  an  Appendix  of  Original  Pieces,"  1796,  Svo. 
56.  *  "  A  Fragment  on  the  India  Trade,  written  in  1791," 
1797,  Svo.  57.  "Thoughts  of  an  old  Man  of  independent 
mind,  though  dependent  fortune,"  1800,  Svo.  58.  "  Ori- 
ental Repertory,"  vol.  I.  4to.  April  1791  to  January 
1793.  59.  "  Oriental  Repertory,"  vol.  II.  4to.  (not  com- 
pleted).* 

DALRYMPLE  (David),  an  eminent  Scotch  lawyer 
and  antiq\iary,  and  brother  to  the  preceding,  was  born  in 
Edinburgh  on  the  '28th  of  October  1726,  and  was  educated 
at  Eton  school,  where  he  was  distinguished  no  less  for  his 
acquisitions  in  literature  than  for  the  regularity  of  his 
manners.  From  Eton  he  was  removed,  to  complete  his 
studies  at  Utrecht,  where  he  remained  till  1746.  In  1748 
he  was  called  to  the  Scotch  bar,  where,  notwithstanding 
the  elegant  propriety  of  the  cases  which  he  drew,  his  suc- 
cess did  not  answer  the  expectations  which  had  been  formed 
of  him.  This  was  not  owing  either  to  want  of  science  or 
to  want  of  industry,  but  to  certain  peculiarities,  which,  if 
not  inherent  in   his  nature,  were  the  result  of  early  and 

'   Memoirs  by  himself  in   European  Mag.  for  November  aud  December  1802. 
— Lysons's  Environs,  Suppleni^'nlal  volumo. 


230  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

deep-rooted  habits.  He  possessed  on  all  occasions  a  so- 
vereign contempt,  not  only  for  verbal  antithesis,  but  for 
■well-rounded  periods,  and  every  thing  which  had  the  sem- 
blance of  declamation  ;  and  indeed  he  was  wholly  unfitted, 
by  an  ill-toned  voice,  and  ungraceful  elocution,  for  shi- 
ning as  an  orator.  It  is  not  surprizing,  therefore,  that  his 
pleadings,  which  were  never  addressed  to  the  passions, 
did  not  rival  those  of  some  of  his  opponents,  who,  pos- 
sessed of  great  rhetorical  powers,  did  not,  like  iiim,  employ 
strokes  of  irony  too  fine  to  be  perceived  by  the  bulk  of  any 
audience,  but  expressed  themselves  in  full,  clear,  and 
harmonious  periods.  Even  his  memorials,  though  classi- 
cally written,  and  often  replete  with  valuable  matter,  did 
not  on  every  occasion  please  the  court ;  for  they  were  aU 
Tjifays  brief,  and  sometimes,  it  was  said,  indicated  more  at- 
tention to  the  minutiae  of  forms  than  to  the  merits  of  the 
cause.  Yet  on  points  which  touched  his  own  feelings,  or 
the  interests  of  truth  and  virtue,  his  language  was  animated, 
his  arguments  forcible,  and  his  scrupulous  regard  to  form 
thrown  aside.  He  was  on  all  occasions  incapable  of  mis- 
leading the  j-udge  by  a  false  statement  of  facts,  or  his 
clients,  by  holding  out  to  them  fallacious  grounds  of  hope. 
The  character  indeed  which  he  had  obtained  for  knowledge 
and  integrity  in  the  Scotch  law,  soon  raised  him  to  an  emi- 
nence in  his  profession.  Accordingly,  in  March  1766,  he 
was  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  session 
with  the  warmest  approbation  of  his  countrymen  :  and  in 
May  1776  he  succeeded  to  the  place  of  a  lord  commis- 
sioner of  the  justiciary  on  the  resignation  of  lord  Coalston, 
his  wife's  father.  Upon  taking  his  seat  on  the  bench  he 
assumed  the  tide  of  lord  Hailes,  in  compliance  with  the 
visage  established  in  the  court  of  session  :  this  is  the  name 
by  which  he  is  generally  known  among  the  learned  of  Eu- 
rope. 

As  a  judge  of  the  supreme,  civil,  and  criminal  courts, 
he  acted  in  the  view  of  his  country  ;  from  which  he  merited 
and  obtained  high  confidence  and  approbation.  But  he 
was  not  only  conspicuous  as  an  able  and  upright  judge, 
iuid  a  sound  lawyer ;  he  was  also  eminent  as  a  profound 
and  accurate  scholar;  being  a  thorough  master  of  classical 
learning,  the  belles  Icttres,  and  historical  antiquities  ; 
particularly  of  his  own  country,  to  the  study  of  which  he 
was  led  by  his  profession.  Indelatigable  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  these  studies,  his  time  was  sedulously  devoted  to 


D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  231 

the  promotion  of  useful  learning,  piety,  and  virtue.  Nu- 
merous arc  the  works  that  have  issued  from  liis  pen,  all  of 
them  distinguished  by  uncommon  accuracy,  taste,  and 
learning.  Besides  some  occasional  papers,  both  serious 
and  humorous,  of  liis  composing,  that  appeared  in  tlie 
World  *,  and  a  variety  of  communicaiions,  critical  and 
biographical,  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  f,  and  other 
publications  of  like  nature,  he  allotted  some  part  ot  1ms 
time  to  the  illustration  and  defence  of  prnnitive  Christi- 
anity. 

In  1771  he  composed  a  very  learned  and  ingenious  paper, 
or  law-case,  on  the  dispnted  peerage  of  Sutherland,  lie 
was  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  la.iy  Elizabeth,  tne  daiignter 
of  the  last  earl,  and  being  theti  a  judge,  the  names  of  two 
eminent  lawyers  were  annexed  to  it.  In  that  case,  lie  dis- 
played the  greatest  accurai-y  of  research,  and  tne  most 
profound  knowjetige  of  the  antiquities  and  rules  of  descent, 
in  that  country  ;  wiiich  he  managed  with  such  dexterity  of 
argUMient,  as  clearly  established  the  right  of  liis  pupil,  and 
f(Mmed  a  precedent,  at  the  same  time,  for  the  decision  of 
all  sueli  questions  in  future.  In  1773  he  published  a  small 
volume,  entitled  ''  llfmarks  on  the  History  of  Scotland.'* 
These  appealed  to  be  the  gleanings  of  the  historical  re- 
search wliicii  lie  was  making  at  that  time,  and  discovered 
his  lordship's  turn  for  minute  and  accurate  inquiry  into 
doubtful  points  of  history,  and  at  the  same  time  displayed 
the  candour  and  liberality  of  his  judgment.  This  puijlica- 
tion  prepared  the  public  for  the  favourable  reception  of 
tiie  Annals  of  Scotland,  jn  2  vols.  4to,  the  first  of  wliich 
appeared  in  1776,  and  the  second  in  1779,  and  fudy  an- 
swered the  expectations  which  he  had  raised.  The  dilfi- 
culties  attending  the  subject,  tlie  want  of  candour,  and 
the  spirit  of  party,  had  hitherto  prevented  the  Scotch  from 
having  a  genuine  history  of  their  country,  in  times  previ- 
ous to  those  of  queen  Mary.  Lord  Haiies  carried  his  at- 
tention to  this  history,  as  far  back  as  to  the  accession  of 
Malcolm   Canmore,  in    1037,    and  his  work  contains  the 

*  Nos.  140,  147,  204,  were  wiittea  which  produced  from  the  pen  of  our 

by  loril  Hiiiles.  English  RaphaoJ  the  vindication  of  it 

-f-  The  Remarks  on  fhe  'I'atlers,  in  in  llie  same  vohune,  p.  60'],  and  the 

volume  LX.   pp.  679.  793,  901,  1073,  reply  of   lord  Haiirs,  in  p.  8S6.— The 

1163,   were   by    lord  Haiies.      His    too  Edinburgh    iMaga/'jiie     was    also    fre» 

«as  the  critique  in  volume  LXI.  p.  399,  quently  enriched  by  his  comtnunica- 

on  the  famous  Miniature  of  Milton,  in  tions. 
ttie  possession  of  sir  Joahwa  Reynolds, 


233  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

annals  of  14  princes,  from  Malcolm  III.  to  the  death  of  Da- 
vid II.  And  happy  it  was  that  the  affairs  of  Scothuid  at- 
^.^tracted  the  talents  of  so  able  a  writer,  who  to  the  learning^ 
and  skill  of  a  lawyer,  joined  the  industry  and  curiosity  of 
ah  antiquary  ;  to  whom  no  object  appears  frivolous  or  un- 
important that  serves  to  elucidate  his  subject. 

Lord  Hailes  has  so  well  authenticated  his  work  by  re- 
finances to  historians  of  good  credit,  or  deeds  and  writings 
of  undoubted  authority,  and  has  so  happily  cleared  it  from 
fable,   uncertainty,  and  conjecture,  that  every  Scotchman, 
since  its  appearance,    has  been  able  to  trace   back  with 
confidence,  in  genuine  memoirs,  the  history  of  his  country 
for  736  years,  and  may  revere  the  memory  of  the  respec- 
table judge,  who  with    indefatigable  industry,  and  painful 
labour,  has  removed  the  rubbish  under  which  the  precious 
remains  were  concealed.      Lord   Hailes  at  first  intended, 
as  appears  by  an  advertisement  prefixed  to  his  work,   to 
carry  down  his  annals  to  the  accession  of  James  I.  but,  to 
the  great  disappointment  of  the  public,  he  stofjped  short 
at  the  death  of  David  IL  and  a  very  important  period  of 
the  history  still  remains  to  be  filled  up  by  an  able  writer. 
Lord  Hailes's  Annals  of  Scotland,  it  is  believed,  stand  un- 
rivalled in  the  English  language,  for  a  purity  and  simpli- 
city of  style,  an  elegance,  perspicuity,  and  conciseness  of 
narration,  that  peculiarly  suited  the  form  of  his  work;  and 
is  entirely   void  of  that  false  ornament,  and  stately  gait, 
which  makes  the  works  of  some  other  writers   appear  in 
gigantic  but  fictitious  majesty. 

In  1786,  Lord  Hailes  came  forward  with  the  excellent 
Dr.  VVutson,  and  other  writers  in  England,  to  repel  Mr. 
Gibbon's  attack  on  Christianity,  and  puiilislied  a  4to  vo- 
lume, entitled  "  An  Enquiry  into  the  Secondary  Causes 
which  Mr.  Gibbon  has  assigned  for  the  rapid  pro"^ress  of 
Christianity,"  in  which  there  is  a  great  display  of  literary 
acumen,  and  of  zeal  for  the  cause  he  espou.ses,  without 
the  rancour  of  theological  controversy.  Tiiis  was  the  last 
work  he  sent  from  the  press ;  except  a  few  biographical 
sketches  of  eminent  Scotsmen,  designed  as  specimens  of 
a  "  Biographia  Scotica,"  which  he  justly  considered  as  a 
desideratum,  and  which,  it  is  much  to  be  regretted,  the 
infirmities  of  age,  increasing  fast  upon  him,  did  not  allow 
him  to  supply  ;  for  he  was  admirably  qualified  for  the  un- 
dertaking, not  only  by  his  singular  diligence  and  candour, 
but  from  the  uncommon  extent  and  accuracy  of  his  literary 


D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E,  *33 

and  biographical  knowledge ;  in  which,  it  is  believed,  he 
excelled  a.11  his  contemporaries. 

Akhouiih  his  lordsliip's  constitution  had  been  \or\<r  in  an 
enfeebled  stale,  he  attended  his  duty  on  the  bench  till 
within  three  days  of  his  death,  which  happened  on  the  29th 
of  November  1792,  in  the  66th  year  of  his  age.  His  lord- 
ship was  twice  married  ;  by  his  first  wife,  Anne  Brown, 
oidy  daughter  of  lord  Coalston,  he  left  issue  one  daughter, 
who  inherits  the  family  estate.  His  second  marriage  (of 
wliicli  also  there  is  issue  one  daughter)  was  to  Helen 
Fergusson,  youngest  daughter  of  lord  .Kilkerran,  who 
survived  liim.  Leaving  no  male  issue,  the  title  of  baronet 
descends  to  his  nephew,  son  of  the  late  lord  provost  DaU 
rymple. 

Lord  Hailes  was  for  some  years  the  correspondent  of  Dr. 
Johnson,  to   whose  inspection  he  submitted   much  of  his 
*'  Annals"  in  manuscript.     He  had  early  formed  a  high 
opinion  of  the  author  of  the  Rambler,  and  considered  him 
as  one  of  the  best  moral  writers  England   had   produced. 
Johnson  praised  him  as  "  a  man  of  worth,  a  scholar,   and 
a  wit."      His  minute  accuracy,  and  acuteness  in  detecting 
error,  were  in  unison  with  Johnson's  love  of  truth.     "  The 
exactness  of  his  dates,"  said  he  on  one  occasion,   "  raises 
my  wondt^r.     He  seems  to  have  the  closeness  of  Henault, 
without  his  constraint;"   and  this  opinion  he   takes  a  plea- 
sure in  repeating  in  a  subsequent  letter  to  Mr.  Boswell  : 
*'  Be  so  kind  as  to  return  lord  Hailes  my  most  respectful 
thanks  for  his  first  volume  :   his  accuracy  strikes  me  with 
wonder  ;  his  narrative  is  far  superior  to  that  of  Henault,  as 
I   have  formerly   mentioned." — "  Lord  Hailes's  Annals  of 
Scotland  have  not  that  pointed  form  which  is  the  taste  of 
this  age ;   but   it  is   a   book  which   will  always  sell — it  has 
such  a  stability    of  dates,  such   a  certainty   of  facts,  and 
such  a  punctuality  of  citation.     I  never  before  read  Scotch 
history  with  certainty." 

The  erudition  of  lord  Hailes,  says  his  friend  the  late 
lord  Woodhouslee,  was  not  of  a  dry  and  scholastic  nature; 
he  felt  the  beauties  of  the  composition  of  the  ancients  ;  he 
entered  with  taste  and  discernment  into  the  merits  of  the 
Latin  poets,  and  that  peculiar  vein  of  delicate  and  inge- 
nious thought  which  characterises  the  Greek  epigram- 
matists ;  and  a  few  specimens  which  he  has  left  of  his  own 
^composition  in  that  style,  evince  the  hand  of  a  master.  It 
would  not,  adds  his  lordship,  be  easy  to  produce  from  the 


234  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

works  of  any  modern  Latin  poet,  a  more  delicate,  tender, 
and  pathetic  effusion,  or  an  idyllion  of  greater  classical 
purity,  tiian  the  iambics  he  wrote  *'  On  the  death  of  his 
tirst  wife,  in  child-bed  of  twins*."  Lord  Hailes  was  a 
man  of  wit,  and  possessed  a  strong  feeling  of  the  absurd 
and  ridicDlous  in  human  conduct  and  character,  which 
gave  a  keen  edge  of  irony  both  to  his  conversation  and 
writings.  To  his  praise,  however,  it  must  be  added,  that 
that  irony,  if  not  always  untinctured  with  prejudice,  was 
never  prompted  by  malignity,  and  was  generally  exerted 
in  the  cause  of  virtue  and  good  morals.  How  much  he 
excelled  in  painting  the  lighter  weaknesses  and  absurdities 
of  mankind,  may  be  seen  from  the  papers  of  his  compo- 
sition in  the  "  World"  and  the  "  Mirror."  His  private 
character  was  every  thing  that  is  praise-worthy  and  re- 
spectable. In  a  word,  he  was  an  honour  to  the  station 
which  he  filled,  and  to  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  That 
such  a  man  shouUl  not  yet  have  found  a  biographer  worthy 
of  his  merits,  cannot  be  ascribed  either  to  the  obscurity  of 
his  character  and  station,  or  to  the  incapacity  of  his  con- 
temporaries. But  lord  Hailes  was  a  man  of  piety  of  the 
old  stamp,  and  a  strenuous  advocate  for  revealed  religion, 
and  therefore  did  not  share,  as  he  woulti  not  have  been 
ambitious  to  share,  the  celebrity  that  has  been  conferred 
on  some  of  his  countrymen  of  a  very  opposite  character. 

The  works  of  lord  Hailes,  arranged  in  the  order  of  their 
publication,  areas  follow:  1.  "  bacred  poems,  by  various 
authors,"  Edinb.  1751,  12mo.  2.  "  Tiie  wisdom  of  So- 
lomon, wisdom  of  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,  or  Kcclesiasti- 
cus,"  Edinb.  1755,  12mo.  3.  '*  Select  discourses,  nine 
in  number,  by  John  Smith,  late  fellow  of  Queen's  col- 
lege, Cambridge,"  Edinb.  1756,  12mo.  4.  "  World," 
■No.  140,  Sept.  4,  1755;  a  meditation  among  books.  5. 
World,  No.  147,  Thursday,  Oct.  23,  1755.  C.  World, 
No.  204,  Thursday,  Nov.  25,  1756.  7.  "  A  discourse  of 
the  unnatural  and  vile  Conspiracy  attempted  by  John  earl 
of  Cowry,  and  his  brother,  against  his  majesty's  person, 
at  St.  Johnstoun,  upon  the  5th  of  Aug.  1600,"  1757,  12mo. 
8.  "  A  sermon  wiiich  might  have  been  preached  in  East 
Lothian,  upon  the  25th  day  of  Oct.  1761,  from  Acts  xxvii. 

*  Vidi  gemrllos,  ct  supt  rbivi  parens,  Te,  (1iiI<ms  uxor  !   Ut  mihi  sol  occridit, 
Fausti  (lecus  puerperi  j  !?ndian»c  ilejectiis  polo  ! 

At  niox  sub  uiio  flcbilis  viUi  parens  01)S(;ur.i  vita:  nunc  eg:o  pi  r  :»via, 
C'oHili  gemellus  ccspite.  Hiu,.  sulus,  ac  Uubiut  f(  ri.r  ! 


D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  23i 

1,  2.  "  The  barbarous  people  shewed  us  no  little  kind- 
ness," Etliiib.  1761,  k2mo  ;  occasioned  by  the  country 
people  pillaging  the  wreck  of  two  ves-els,  viz,  the  Betsy, 
Cunningham,  and  the  Leith  packet,  Pitcairn,  from  Lon- 
don to  Lcitli,  cast  away  on  the  shore  between  Dunbar  and 
North  Berwick.  Ali  the  passengers  on  board  the  former, 
in  number  seventeen,  perished  ;  five  on-board  the  latter, 
Oct.  16,  1761.  An  all'ecting  discourse,  which  is  said  to 
have  produced  the  restitution  of  some  part  of  the  pillage. 
9.  '*  Memorials  and  Letters  relating  to  the  history  of  Bri- 
tain in  the  reign  of  James  1.  publislied  from  the  originals," 
Glasgow,  1762.  10.  "  The  works  of  the  ever-memorable 
Mr.  John  Hailes  of  Eton,  now  first  collected  together," 
Glasgow,  1765,  3  vols.  The  line-paper  copies  of  this 
work  are  truly  elegant.  11.  A  specimen  of  a  book  en- 
titled :  Ane  compendious  booke  of  godlie  and  spiritual 
sangs,  collectit  out  of  sundrie  parts  of  the  Scripture,  with 
sundrie  other  ballates,  changed  out  of  prophaine  sangs,  for 
avoyding  of  sin  and  harlotrie,  with  augmentation  of  sundrie 
gude  and  godlie  ballates,  not  contained  in  the  first  edition. 
Printed  by  Andro  Hart,"  Edmb.  1765,  l2mo.  12  "  Me- 
morials and  Letters  relating  to  the  history  of  Britain  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  L  published  from  the  originals,"  Glasgow, 
1766.  13.  "  An  Account  of  the  Preservation  of  Charles  IL 
after  the  battle  of  W^orcester,  drawn  up  by  himself;  to 
which  are  added,  his  letters  to  several  persons,"   Glasgow, 

1766.  14.  "The  secret  correspondence  between  sir  Ro- 
bert Cecil  and  James  VI."  1766,  12mo.  15.  "A  cata- 
logue of  the  lords  of  session,  from  the  institution  of  the 
college  of  justice,  in  \5i2,  with  historical  notes,"  Edinb. 

1767,  4to.  16.  "  The  private  correspondence  of  doctor 
Francis  Atteibury,  bishop  of  Rochester,  and  his  friends, 
in  1725,  never  before  published,"  1768,  4to.  17.  "An 
examination  of  some  of  the  artjuments  for  the  hitrh  anti- 
quity  of  regiam  majestatem  ;  and  an  inquiry  into  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  leges  Malcolmi,"  Edinb.  1769,  4to.  IS. 
"  Historical  Memoirs  concerning  the  Provincial  Councils  of 
the  Scottish  Clergy,  from  the  earliest  accounts  of  the  sera 
of  the  reformation,"  Edinb.  1769,  4to.  19.  *'  Canons  of 
the  church  of  Scotland,  drawn  up  in  the  provincial  councils 
held  at  Perth,  anno    1242  and   1269,"   Edinb.   1769,  4to. 

20.  "  Ancient  Scottish  poems,   published   from  the  manu- 
script of  George  Bannatyne,    1568,"    Edinb.    1770,    12mo. 

21,  "  The  additional  case  of  Elizabeth,  claiming  the  title 


236  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

and   dignity  of  countess  of  Sutherland,"   4to.     22.   "  Re- 
marks Sn   the  History  of  Scotland,^'   Edinb.    1773,    12mo. 
23.  "  Huberti  Langueti  EpistoliE  ad  Philippum  Sydneiuin 
equitem  Angluni,   accurante  D.  Dalrymple  de  Hailes  eq." 
Edinb.    1776,  8vo.     24.   "  Annals  of  Scotland,  from  the 
accession  of  Malcolm  III.  surnamed  Canmore,  to  the  ac- 
cession of  Robert  1."   Edinb.    1776.     25.   "Tables  of  tlie 
succession  of  the  kings  of  Scotland,  from  Malcolm  III.  to 
Robert  I."     26.  Chronological  abridgment  of  the  volume." 
The  appendix  contains  eight  dissertations.     27.  "  Annals 
of  Scotland,    iVom   the  accession   of    Robert  I.  surnamed 
Bruce,  to  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Stewart,"    1779, 
4to,  with  an  appendix  containing  nine  dissertations.     28. 
*'  Account  of  the  Martyrs  of  Smyrna  and  Lyons,  in  the  2d 
century,    with    explanatory    notes,"     Eclinb.     177G.       29. 
*'  Remains  of  Christian  A^ntiquity,"   Edinb.    1778,  3  vols. 
30.  "  Octavius,  a  dialogue  by  Marcus  Minucius   Felix,'* 
Edinb.  1781.     31.   "Of  the  manner  in  which  the  perse- 
cutors died,  by  Lactantius,"  Edinb.  1782.     32.   "  Luciani 
Coeiii    Firmiani    Lactantii   divinarum  institutionura    liber 
quintus,  seu  de  justitia,"   1777.     33.  "  Disquisitions  con- 
cerning the  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,"  Glasgow, 
1783.     34.   "  Sketch  of  the   life  of  John  Barclay,"    1786, 
4to.     35.  *'  Sketch  of  the  life  of  John  Hamilton,  a  secular 
priest,  who  lived  about  1600,"   4to.     36.   "  Sketch  of  the 
life  of  sir  James  Ramsay,  a  general  oiBcer  in  the  armies  of 
Gustavus   Adolphus,    king    of   Sweden."      37.    "   Life   of 
George  Leslie,"   4to.     33.   "  Sketch  of  the  life  of  Mark 
Alex.  Boyd,"  4to.     39.  "  The  opinions  of  Sarah  duchess 
dowager  of  Marlborough,  published  from  her  originalMSS." 
1788,   12mo.     40.  "  The  address  of  Q.  Scjjtim.  TertuUian 
to  Scapula  Tertnllus,  proconsul  of  Africa,"   Edinb.  1790, 
12mo.     This  address  contains  many  particulars  relating  to 
the  church  after  the  3d  century.     The  translator   has   re- 
jected all  words  and  phrases  of  French  origin,  and  writes 
entirely  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  dialect.     In  the  course  of  the 
notes,  many  obscurities  of  the  original,  not  adverted  to  by 
other  commentators,  are  explained.      Some  strange  inac- 
curacies of  Mr.  Gibbon  are  also  detected,  not  included  in 
the  misrepresentations  of  his   two  famous  chapters.     He 
was  long  engaged  in  pursuits  to  examine   the  authenticity 
of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament.     The  result  is  said  to 
have  been,   that  he  discovered  every  verse  contained  in  it, 
with  the  exception  of  two  or  three,  in  the  writings  of  the 


D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E.  237 

three  first  centuries. — Indeed  this  seems  to  have  Ijeen  an 
object  in   iiU    his  works  ;  tor,  at   the  end    of  each  of  his 
translations  and  editions  of  the  primitive  Christian  writers, 
a  table  is  given  of  passages  quoted  or  mentioned  by  them.  * 
DALRYMPLE   (James),    the  seventh  baron   and   first 
viscount  Stair,   was  born  in  1609,  studied  at  the  college 
of  Glasgow,   and  passed  all  the  regular  degrees  of  learning 
in  that  university.     On  the  commencement  of  the  rebel- 
lion in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  he  accepted  a  captain's  com- 
mission from  the  parHament,  in  the  earl  of  Glencairn's  re- 
giment, but  was  soon  called  off  to  a  more  suitable  province, 
that  of  filling  a  philosophy  chair  in  the  university  of  Glas- 
gow.     Having  applied  himself  particularly  to  the  study  of 
tlie  laws,   he  entered  as  an  advocate  in  1648,  and  became 
eminent  for  his  judgment  and  skill,   if  not  for  his  integrity. 
AV'hen   tne   estates   of  the  nation    sent    commissioners    to 
Breda  to  invite  Charles  II.  to  Scotland,   he  was  appointed 
secretary  to  the  embass}-,  and  acquitted  himself  entirely  to 
his  majesty's  satisfaction.      He  then  resumed   his  practice 
at  the  bar,  but  could  not  be  prevailed  upon   to  take  any 
oaths  to   the   government  during  the  usurpation.     W'heu 
Charles  II.   was  restored  to   the  throne,   he   conferred  on 
Mr.  Dalrymple  the  honour  of  knighthood,  appointed  him 
a  senator  of  the  college  of  justice,  and  in  1671,  lord  pre- 
sident of  the  session,  in  which  office  his  conduct  was  very 
unpopular;  and  in  1682,  being  dismissed  from  all  his  of- 
fices,   he   retired   to   Holland,    where  he  became  such  a 
favourite  with   William  prince  of  Orange,  that  when  ad- 
vanced to  tl)e  throne  of  these  kingdoms,  his  majesty  re- 
stored him  to  his  place  of  lord   presixlent,  and  raised  him 
to  the  dignity  of  viscount  Stair,   lord  Glenluce  and   Stran- 
rawer.      His    lordship  continued  to  enjoy  his  hygh   legal 
office,  and  the  favour  of  his  prince,  till  his  death,  Nov.  25, 
1695.-   His  character  as  a  politician  has  not  been  favour- 
ably drawn  by  some  historians,  particularly  Mr.  Laing,  in 
liis  lately-published  "  History  of  Scotland."      His  personal 
character  seems  liable  to  less  objection,  and  of  his  learning 
no  doubt  can  be  justly  enteitaii»ed.     He  wrote  :    1.   "  The 
Institutions  of  the  Law  of  Scotland,"  second  edit.  fol.  1693. 

*  Edinburgh  Magazine  for  1793. — European  for  ditto. — Gent.  Mas-  vol.  LXIf. 
— Dr.  Gleig's  Supplement  to  the  EncycloprBdi.i  Britannioa.  — Tytlcr's  Life  of 
Lord  Kaimes. — Forbes's  Life  of  Bealtie. — Funeral  Sermon  by  Dr.  Carlyle— 
Boswell's  Life  of  Johnsou. — Letter  in  defence  of  his  grandfather,  London  Mag. 
1775,  p.  3S0. 


235  D  A  L  R  Y  M  P  L  E. 

2.  "  Decisions  of  the  Court  of  Session  from  1661  to  1681," 
2  vols.  fol.  3.  "  Pliilosopliia  nova  experimentalis,"  pub- 
lished in  Holland  during  his  exile,  and  much  commended 
by  Bayle  in  his  Journal.  4.  "  A  Vindication  of  the  Divine 
Perfections,  &c.  by  a  Person  of  Honour,"  1695,  8vo. 
5.  "  An  Apology  for  his  own  Conduct,"  4to,  the  only  copy 
of  which  extant  is  said  to  be  in  the  advocates'  library  at 
Edinburgh,  Had  lord  Orford  read  much  of  his  history,  he 
needed  not  have  added  that  "  it  is  not  known  on  what  oc- 
casion he  published  it."^ 

DALTON  (John,  D.  D.)  was  born  in  1709,  at  Deane, 
in  Cumberland,   where  his  father  was  then  rector.      He  had 
Lis  school  education   at   Lowther,  in  Westmoreland,  and 
thence  was  removed,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  to  Queen's- 
coUege,  in  Oxford.     When  he  had  taken  his  first  degrees, 
he  was  employed  as  tutor  or  governor  to  lord  Beauchamo, 
only  son  of  Algernon  Seymour,  earl  of  Hertford,  late  duke 
of  Somerset.     During  his  attendance  on  that  noble  youth, 
he  employed  some  of  his  leisure  hours  in  adapting  Milton's 
"  Masque  at  Ludlow  Castle"  to  the  stage,  by  a  judicious 
insertion  of  several  songs  and  passages  selected  from  other 
of  Milton's  works,  as  well  as  of  several    songs  and  other 
elegant  additions  of  his  own,  suited  to  the  characters  and 
to  the  manner  of  th«  ori<iinal  author.     This  was  received 
as  a  very  acceptable  present  to   the  public ;   and  it  still 
continues   one  of  the  most  favourite  dramatic  entertain- 
ments, under  the  title  of  "  Comus,  a  masque,"  being  set 
to  music  by  Dr,  Arne.     We  cannot  omit   mentioning  to 
Dalton's  honour,  that,  during  the  run  of  this  piece,   he  in- 
dustriously sought  out  a  grand-daughter  of  Milton's,  op- 
pressed  both    by  age   and    penury;  and    procured    her   a 
benefit  from  this  play,  the  profits  of  which  to  her  amounted, 
it  is  said,  to  upwards  of  120/.     Dr.  Johnson  wrote  the  Pro- 
logue spoken  on  this  occasion.     A  bad  state  of  health  pre- 
vented Dr.  Dalton  from  attending  his  pupil  abroad,  and 
saved  him  the  mortification  of  beuig  an  eye-witness  of  his 
death,  which  was  occasioned  by  the  small-pox,  at  Bologna, 
in   Italy.     Soon   after,    succeeding  to  a   fellowship  in  his 
college,  he  entered  into  orders,  according  to  the  rules  of 
that  society. 

He  now  applied  hitnself  with  diligence  to  the  duties  of. 
his  function,  and  was  noticed  as  an   able  preacher  at  the 

*  Park's  edition  of  the  Royal  and  Noble  Authors. — Laing's  Hist,  of  ScollanJ, 


D  A'L  T  O  N.  233 

university,  in  which  character  he  was  employed  by  Seclcer, 
afterwards  archbishop  ot  Canterbury,  as  his  assistant  at 
St.  James's.  In  July  17oO  he  took  liis  degrees  of  B.  and 
D.  D.  for  which  he  went  out  grand  compounder,  and  about 
the  same  time,  was  presented  to  the  rectory  of  St.  Mary  at 
Hill  by  the  late  duke  of  Somerset ;  and  upon  his  recom- 
nieiidatiou,  promoted  by  tl)e  king  to  a  prebend  of  Wor- 
cester, iit  wiiich  ])lace  he  died,  July  21,  1763.  He  mar- 
ried a  sister  of  sir  Francis  Gosling,  an  alderman  of  Lon- 
don, Ky  whom  he  left  no  issue.  He  had  published,  1 , 
*'  A  volume  of  Sermons,"  1757  ;  and  before  that,  2.  "  Two 
Kpistles,"  1744,  4to,  written  in  1735,  3.  "A  descriptive 
Poem,  addressed  to  two  ladies,  at  their  return  from  view- 
ing the  coal-mines  near  Whitehaven  ;"  to  which  are  added 
some  thoughts  on  building  and  planting,  addressed  to  sir 
James  Lovvther,  of  Lowther^hall,  bart.  17  55,  4to.  This 
entertaining  poem,  which  is  reprinted  in  Pearch's  collec- 
tion, vol.  I.  describes  the  real  descent  of  two  fair  heroines 
into  the  subterraneous,  and  indeed  submarine,  regions; 
the  mines,  which  are  remarkable  for  many  singularities ; 
Savery's  tire-engine;  and  the  remainder  is  employed  in  a. 
survey  of  the  improvements  in  Whitehaven,  by  the  great 
commerce  which  these  mines  occasion,  and  in  a  very  elegant 
display  of  the  beauties  of  the  adjacent  countr}'.  4.  "  Re- 
marks on  twelve  historical  designs  of  Raphael,  and  the 
Museum  Grajcum  &  Egyptiacum  ;"  illustrated  by  prints 
from  his  brother  Mr.  Richard  Dalton's  drawings. ' 

DALTON  (lliciiARD),  brother  to  the  preceding,  keeper 
of  the  pictures,  medals,  &,c,  and  antiquary  to  his  majesty, 
was  originally  apprenticed  to  a  coach-painter  in  Clerken- 
well,  and  after  quitting  his  master,  went  to  Rome  to  pur- 
sue the  study  of  painting,  where,  about  the  year  1749,  au 
invitation  was  given  him  by  Roger  Kynaston,  esq,  of 
Shrewsbury,  in  company  with  Mr.  (afterwards  sir  John) 
Frederick,  to  accompany  them  to  Naples.  From  that  city 
they  proceeded  in  a  felucca,  along  the  coast  of  Calabria, 
crossed  over  to  Messina,  and  thence  to  Catania,  where 
ihey  met  with  lord  Charlemont,  Mr.  Burton,  afterwards 
lord  Cunningham,  Mr.  Scott,  and  Mr.  Murpiiy.  They 
then  sailed  together  in  a  ship,  hired  by  lord  Charlemont 
and  his  party,  from  Leghorn,  with  the  intention  of  making 
that  voyage ;  the  felucca  followed  first  to  Syracuse,  then 

*  Biog.  Dram,— Hutchinson's  Hist,  of  Cumberland. 


240  D  A  L  T  O  N. 

to  the  isle  of  Malta,  and  afterwards  separated  ;  but  Mr. 
Dalton,  accompanying  the  party  in  the  ship,  made  the 
Toyage  to  Constantinople,  several  parts  of  Greece,  and 
Egypt.  This  voyage  led  to  his  publication,  which  ap- 
peared in  1781,  called,  "  Explanation  of  the  set  of  prints 
relative  to  the  manners,  customs,  &.c.  of  the  present  inha- 
bitants of  Egypt,  from  discoveries  made  on  the  spot,  1749, 
etched  and  engraved  by  Richard  Dalton,  esq."  On  his 
return  to  England,  he  was,  by  the  interest  of  his  noble 
patron  lord  Charlemont,  introduced  to  the  notice  of  his 
present  majesty,  then  prince  of  Wales,  who,  after  his  ac- 
cession to  the  throne,  appointed  him  his  librarian,  an  office 
for  which  it  would  appear  he  was  but  indifferently  quali- 
fied, if  Dr.  Morell's  report  be  true*.  Soon  after,  it  being 
determined  to  forrii  a  noble  collection  of  drawings,  medals, 
&.C.  Mr.  Dalton  was  sent  to  Italy  in  17G3,  to  collect  the 
various  articles  suited  to  the  intention.  The  accomplish- 
ment of  that  object,  however,  was  unfortunately  attended 
with  circumstances  which  gave  rise  to  sir  Robert  Strange's 
memorable  letter  of  complaint  to  the  earl  of  Bute,  in  which 
he  says,  indignantl}-,  although  not  altogether  unjustly,  that 
"  persecution  haunted  him,  even  beyond  the  Alps,  in  the 
form  of  Mr.  Dalton."  On  this  subject  it  may  here  be 
necessary  only  to  refer  to  sir  Robert's  letter,  and  to  the 
authorities  in  the  note. 

The  object  of  Mr.  Dalton's  tour  being  achieved,  he  re- 
turned to  London,  and  when  the  royal  cabinet  was  adjust- 
ed, his  department  of  librarian  was  changed  to  that  of 
keeper  of  the  drawings  and  medals;  and  in  1778,  upon  the 
death  of  Mr.  Knapton,  his  majesty  appointed  him  surveyor 
of  the  pictures  in  the  palaces.  Upon  his  first  appointment 
at  court,  he  had  apartments  at  !St.  James's  palace,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death  Feb.  7,  1791.  He  was  elected  a 
fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  in  1767  ;  and  when 
the  society  of  artists  was  incorporated  by  charter,  he  was 
appointed  treasurer,  but  soon  resigned  the  office,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  dissentions  which  took  place  in  that  institu- 
tion. In  1764,  he  married  Esther,  daughter  of  Abraham 
DeheuUe,  a  silk  weaver  in  Spitalhelds,  by  whom  he  had  a 
considerable  fortune.  Having  no  issue  by  her,  he  left 
lOOO/.  to  a  natural  son,  after  the  death  of  his  brother  Dr. 

*  Dr.   Mf.rpll    reported    that    Mr.       things  that  *'  might  be  got  again  every 
Dalton,  in  garbling   liis  niajpsty's  li-      'day  '." 
brary,  threw  out  several  Caxtons,   as 


B  A  L  T  O  N.  241 

t)altoii's  \vl Jow ;  and  directed  all  his  pictures,  antiques, 
drawings,  &c.  and  otlier  personal  property,  to  be  sold  for 
the  benefit  of  his  servants. 

As  an  ariist,  Mr.  Edwards  is  of  opinion  that  he  never 
acquired  any  great  powers.  In  one  of  the  early  exhibi- 
tions was  a  drawing  exectjted  by  iiiin  ;  lite  subject,  an 
Egyptian  dancing  girl,  which  was  the  only  specimen  he 
ever  exhibited  :  but  he  published  several  works  at  different 
periods  of  his  life.  The  first  was  tlie  collection  of  prints 
after  the  antique  statues,  a  few  of  which  he  etched  himself, 
hut  they  cannot  be  considered  as  masterly  performances. 
Some  of  these  are  dated  1744;  the  names  of  the  others 
may  be  found  in  our  authorities,  with  many,  and  some  not 
very  pleasing,  traits  of  personal  character. ' 

DALTON  (Michael),  an  English  lawyer',  was  born 
somewhere  in  the  county  of  Cambridge,  in  1554,  and  bred 
to  his  profession  in  Lincoln's-inn,  or  Gray's-inn,  and  was 
formerly  as  well  known  for  his  book  on  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  j)eace,  as  Burn  is  at  present ;  his  "  Duty  of  Sheriffs" 
was  also  a  book  in  good  esteem.  In  Neal's  "  History  of  the 
Puritans,"  mention  is  made  of  Mr.  Dalton  the  queen's 
counsel,  who,  in  1590,  pleaded  against  Mr.  Udal,  who 
was  condemned  for  writinor  a  libel  called  "  A  demonstra- 
tion  of  Discipline  ;"  this  was  probably  our  Dalton,  who 
also  in  1592  supported  the  episcopal  power  in  parliament, 
vi'  which  he  was  a  member,  when  attacked  by  the  puritan 
party.  There  is  a  MS.  of  his  in  the  British  Museum,  en- 
titled "  A  Breviary  or  Chronology  of  the  state  of  the  Ro- 
man or  Western  church  or  Empire ;  the  decay  of  true  re- 
ligion, and  the  rising  of  papacy,  from  the  time  of  our 
Saviour  till  Martin  Luther."  In  this  he  is  styled  Michael 
Dalton  of  Gray's-inn,  esq.  It  is  supposed  that  he  died 
before  the  commencement  of  the  civil  war.  ^ 

DALY  (Daniel),  an  Irishman  by  birth,  was  born  in  the 
tounty  of  Kerry  in  1595,  and  became  a  Dominican,  adopt- 
ing the  name  of  Dominicus  a  llosario.  He  was  at  first 
educated  in  a  convent  of  his  order  at  Tralee,  but  studied 
prnicipaliy  in  Flanders.  The  fame  which  he  acquired  for 
learning  and  piety  procured  him  an  invitation  to  Lisbon,  to 
assist  in  founding  a  convent  for  the  Irish  Dommicans, 
which  had  been  projected  by  Philip  IV.  then  master  of 

•  »  Edwards's  Supplement  to  Walpole.— Gent.  Mas.  LXI.  ISS,  195,  5'26,  LXVL 
1[46.  -i  Fuller's  Worthies,— iitr>'pe'>-  Life  ot  WhitgiCt,  p.  387.— Grau-tr/ 

Vol,  XL  R 


2i2  DALY. 

Poitufral.     This  being  accomplislied,  be  Was  elected  the 
first  superior.      H^  also  assisted  at  the  foundation  of  a  se- 
cond,  for  the  natives  of  Ireiand,   and  so  entirely  gained 
the  good  opinion  and  confidence  of  the  duke  of  Braganza 
when  he  ascended  the  throne,  that  in    1655,  his   majesty 
honoured    him   with  the    appointment    of    amliassador  to 
Louis  XIV.  of  France,  to  negociate  a  treaty  of  alliance  and 
affinity  between  the  two  courts.     At  Paris  he  was  equally 
valued  in  the  character  of  churchtiian  and  statesman,  and 
became  highly  popular  by  his  works  of  piety  and  charity. 
He  died  at  Lisbon  June  30,    1662,  and  was  interred  in  the 
chapel  of  his  convent,  with  a  monument  and  inscription  ; 
from  which  we  learn  that  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
bishop  elect  of  Coimbra.       He  had  l^efore  refused  the 
archbishopric  of  Goa.     Among  his  ecclesiastical  dignities, 
he  was  censor  of  the  inquisition,  visitor-general  and  vicar- 
general  of  the  kingdom.     One  book  only  of  his  is  known, 
which  is  probably  a  very  curious  one,  "  Initium,  incremen- 
turn,  et  exitus  familiae  Giraldinorum  Desmoniae  comituin 
Palatinorum  Kyerria  in  Hibernia,  ac  persecutionis  haereti- 
corum  descriptio,  ex  nonnullis  fragmentis  collecta  ac  lati- 
nitate  donata,"  Lisbon,  1655,  8vo. ' 

DALZELL   (Anthony),    M.  A.    F.  R.  S.   Edin.   Greek 
professor  in  the  university  of  Edinburgh,  keeper  of  the 
university  library,   &.c.  was  born  in  1750,   in  the  parish  of 
Katho,  near  Edinburgh,  and  was  educated   partly  at  the 
parish  school,    but  principally  at   Edinburgh,    where  his 
learning    and    moral   conduct  induced    the    late   earl    of 
Lauderdale  to  appoint  him   tutor  to  his  eldest  son,   lord 
Maitland,  the  j)resent  earl.    With  this  young  nobleman,  he 
attended  a  course  of  the  lectures  of  the  celebrated  professor 
Millar  at  Glasgow,  and  afterwards  accompanied  his  lord- 
ship to  Paris.     On  his  return  from  the  continent,   Mr.  Dal- 
zcll,  at  the  recommendation  of  the  late  earl  of  Lauderdale, 
was  appointed  to  the  professorship  of  Greek  at  Edinburgh, 
an  office  which  he  filled  for  many  years  with  the  highest 
reputation   and  advantage  to  the  university.      He  has  the 
credit  indeed  of  reviving  a  taste  for  that  language,   which 
from  various  causes,  had   been  disused  at  Edinburgh,  or 
studied  very  superficially.     To  enable  his  pupils  to  prose- 
cute this  accomplishment  with  the  more  effect,  and  imbibe 
u  taste  for  wliat  was  elegant  in  the  language,  he  compiled 

}  Morcri. 


D  A  L  Z  E  L  L.  243 

and  printed,  at  a  great  expence,  a  series  of  collections  out 
of  the  Greek  authors,  including  all  those  passages  which 
he  wished  to  explain  in  the  course  of  his  teaching.  These 
were  printed  in  several  8vo  volumes,  under  the  titles  of 
*'  Collectanea  Minora,"  and  "  Collectanea  Majora."  He 
added  to  eacli  volume  short  notes  in  Latin,  explanatory  of 
the  dilKcult  places,  and  the  text  was  printed  with  great 
accuracy.  The  notes,  which  are  in  elegant  Latin,  are  ad- 
mirable for  brevity,  perspicuity,  and  judgment.  He  at 
the  same  time  composed  and  read  to  tiie  students  a  series 
of  lectures  on  the  language  and  antiquities,  the  philosophy 
and  history,  tlie  literature,  eloquence,  poetry,  and  fine  arts 
of  the  Greeks.  By  these  means  he  became  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  disseminating  a  taste  for  classical  literature  in  the 
university,  nor  was  he  less  happy  in  the  art  of  engao-ing 
the  alfections  and  fixing  the  attention  of  his  pupils  on  the 
objects  which  he  considered  as  the  fundamentals  of  all 
genuine  scholarship. 

On  the  death  of  the  learned  professor  of  Oriental  lan- 
guages, Dr.  James  Robertson,  he  was  chosen  to  succeed 
him  as  keeper  of  the  university  library;  and  likewise  suc- 
ceeded Dr.  John  Drysdale  in  the  honourable  appointment 
of  principal  clerk  to  the  general  assembly  of  the  charch  of 
Scotland,  being  the  first  layman  who  had  ever  been  elected 
to  that  office.  Besides  an  intimacy  with  his  learned  con- 
temporaries at  home,  he  corresponded  with  Heyne  and 
other  eminent  scholars  abroad,  and  enriched  the  Edin- 
burgh Royal  Society  Transactions  with  a  variety  of  in- 
teresting communications  in  biography,  or  on  subjects  of 
erudition.  He  also  translated  and  illustrated  Chevalier's 
description  of  the  plain  of  Troy;  and  was  editor  of  the 
sermons  of  Dr.  Drysdale,  whose  daughter  he  married. 
This  learned  professor,  whose  private  character  was  irt 
every  respect  amiable,  and  threw  a  lustre  on  his  public 
services,  died  at  Edinburgh,   Dec.  8,  ISOC.  ^ 

DAMASCENUS  (John),  or  John  of  Damascus,  a  learned 
priest  and  monk  of  the  eighth  century,  surnamrd  Mansur, 
was  born  at  Damascus  about  61 G.  His  father,  who  was 
rich,  and  held  several  considerable  offices,  had  him  in- 
structed in  the  sciences  by  an  Italian  monk,  named  Cosmo, 
and  he  was  afterwards  raised  to  the  highest  posts,  and  be- 
came chief  counsellor  to  the  prince  of  the  Saracens,     All 

>  Gent.  JIaa:.  vol.  LXXVII.  p.  85. 
R  2 


214  DAMASCtNUS. 

these  dignities,  however,  St.  John  Damascenus  resigned, 
and  entered  himself  a  monk  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Sabas 
near  Jerusalem,  where  he  led  a  pious  and  exemplary  life, 
and  became  famous  in  the  church  by  his  piety  and  writings. 
It  is  said,  that  the  caliph  Hiocham,  having  ordered  his 
right  hand  to  be  cut  otf  on  account  of  a  forged  letter  by 
the  emperor  Leo,  the  hand  was  restored  to  him  the  night 
following  by  a  miracle,  as  he  slept;  which  miracle  was 
univer.-allv  known,  or  as  much  so  as  many  other  miracles 
propagated  in  the  credulous  ages.  He  died  about  the  year 
760,  aged  eighty-fuur.  He  left  an  excellent  treatise  on  the 
orthodox  faith,  and  several  other  works  published  in  Greek 
and  Latin,  by  le  Quien,  1712,  2  vols.  fol.  A  hook  en- 
titled '•  Liber  Barlaam  et  Josaphat  IndiiE  regis,"  is  as- 
cribed to  St.  John  Daniascenus,  but  without  any  founda- 
tion ;  it  has  no  date  of  time  or  place,  but  was  printed  about 
1470,  and  is  scarce.  There  are  several  French  translations 
of  it,  old,  and  little  valued.  Damascenus  raav  be  reckoned 
the  most  learned  man  of  the  eighth  century,  if  we  except 
our  countryman  Bede ;  and,  what  is  less  to  ins  credit,  one 
of  the  first  who  mingled  the  Aristotelian  philosophy  with 
the  Christian  relicjion.  He  became  amont;  the  Greeks 
what  Thomas  Aquinas  was  afterwards  among  the  Latins, 
Except  with  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  most  of 
his  notions  were  erroneous,  and  his  learning  and  fame 
gave  considerable  support  to  the  worshipping  of  images, 
and  other  superstitions  of  that  time. 

One  merit  of  Damascenus  has  not  been  generally  no- 
ticed. He  is  celebrated  by  the  writers  of  his  life,  and  by 
ecclesiastical  historians,  as  the  compiler  and  reformer  of 
chants  in  the  Greek  church,  in  the  same  manner  as  St. 
Gregory  in  the  Roman.  Leo  Allatius  tells  us  they  were 
composed  by  J.  Damascenus,  and  Zarlino  goes  still  farther, 
and  informs  us,  that  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity  th« 
ancient  Greek  notation  by  letters  having  been  thrown  aside, 
Damascenus  invented  new  characters,  which  he  accommo- 
dated to  the  Greek  ecclesiastical  tones  ;  and  that  these 
characters  did  not,  like  ours,  merely 'express  single  sounds, 
but  all  the  intervals  used  in  melody  ;  as  a  semitone,  tone, 
third  minor,  third  major,  &c.  ascending  and  descending, 
with  their  diB'erent  duration.  This  resembles,  in  many 
particulars,  the  notation  of  the  ecclesiastical  books  of  the 
Komvsh  church,  before*  the  time-table  and  characters  in 


D  A  M  A  S  C  I  U  S.  245 

present  use  were   invented,    or,   at  least,  generally  re- 
ceived.' 

DAMASCIUS,  a  celebrated  heathen  philosopher  and 
writer,  of  the  stoic  school  as  som'^  say,  of  die  peripatetic 
according  to  others,  was  borii  at  Damascus,  and  flourished 
about  540,  when  the  Goths  reigned  in  Italy.  If  great 
masters  can  make  a  great  scholar  or  phihjsopher,  Daniascius 
had  every  advantage  of  this  kind.  'I'u^on,  we  are  told, 
was  his  preceptor  in  rhetoric  ;  Isidorns  in  logic  ;  Marinus, 
the  successor  of  Proclus  in  the  school  of  Athens,  in  geo- 
metry and  arithmetic  ;  Zenodotus,  the  successor  of  Ma- 
rinus, in  philosophy  ;  and  Ammonius  in  astronomy,  and 
the  doctrines  of  Plato.  He  wrote  the  life  of  his  master 
Isidorus,  and  dedicated  it  to  Theodora,  a  very  learned  and 
philosophic  lady,  wiio  had  been  a  pupil  of  Isidorns.  In 
this  Life,  which  was  copiously  written,  Daniascius  fre- 
quently attacked  the  Christian  religion  ;  yet  obliquely,  it 
is  said,  and  with  some  reserve  and  timidity  :  for  Chris- 
tianity was  then  too  firmly  estal>lished,  and  protected  by  its 
numbers,  to  endure  any  open  attacks  with  impunity,  espe- 
cially in  a  work  so  remarkable  for  obscurity,  fanaticism, 
and  imposture.  Of  this  Life,  however,  we  have  nothing 
remaining,  but  some  extracts  which  Photius  has  preserved  ; 
•who  also  acquaints  us  with  another  work  of  Daniascius,  of 
the  philosophic  or  the  theologic  kind.  This  was  divided 
into  four  books;  1.  De  admirandis  operibus;  2.  Admiran- 
doi  narrationes  de  daemonibus ;  3.  De  animarum  appari- 
tionibus  post  obitum  admirandae  narrationes.  The  title  of 
the  fourth  has  not  been  jjreserved.  Damascius  succeeded 
Theon  in  the  rhetorical  school,  over  which  he  presided 
nine  years:  and  afterwards  Isidorns  in  that  of  philosophy 
at  Athens,  in  which  situation  it  is  supposed  that  he  spent 
the  latter  part  of  his  life. " 

DAMASUS,  a  celebrated  pope,  was  born  at  Guimaraene 
in  Spain,  and  succeeded  Liberius  in  the  year  ;''66.  Ursinns, 
or  Ursicinus,  opposed  his  election,  and  caused  himself  to  be 
ordained  bishop  of  Rome,  which  raised  a  sedition,  in  which 
many  of  the  people  were  murdered.  Ursinns  was  sent  into 
exile  by  order  of  the  emperor,  but,  returning  to  Italy  in  the 
3'ear  381,  excited  fresh  troubles  there.  The  Italian  bishojjs, 
however,  condemned  him  the  .same  year,  in  the  council  of 

'  Gen.  Diet — Mosheim. — Lnrdner. — Brurker. — Milnei's   Cli.    Tlist.  vo).  TIF. 
208. — Cave. — Bumcy's  Hist,  of  Music,  vol.  11.        2  Cave.^-Morcti. — Biucker. 


246  D  A  M  A  S  U  S. 

Aquileia,  and  he  was  banished  for  ever  by  the  emperor 
Gratian,    at   their   request:     tlius    Damasus    remained    in 
peaceful  possession  of  his  seat  at  Home.     He  held  several 
councils,    condeiimcd    Ursaces,    Valens,    and    Auxeiitius; 
took  the  partof  Paulinns  against  Meletius,  excommunicated 
Apolhnanus,   Vitalus,  and  Timotheus  ;  and  declared  him- 
self against  the  Luciferians.     Damasus  had  an  illustrious  se- 
cretary in  St.  Jerome.     He  governed  the  church  of  Rome 
with  what  the  catholic  writers  term  great  glory,  for  eighteen 
years,  and  died  in  the  year  384.      Some  of  his   letters  re- 
main, Rome,    17  54,  fol.  with  his  life,  in  the  library  of  the 
fathers,  and  in  the  Epist.  Rom.  Pont,  of  Constant,  fol.     He 
also  left  some  Latin  verses,  which  may  be  found  in  Mait- 
taire's  Corpus   Poetarum.     Fabricius   gives    a  very  parti- 
cular account  of  his  works.     This  pope  is  said   to  have  in- 
troduced  the  custom  of  singing  hallelujah  in  the  church. 
He  is  more  noted,  however,  for  having  extended  the  power 
and  authority  of  the  bishops  of  Rome,  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  custom   of  conferring  upon  certain  bishops 
the  title  of  vicars  to  the  pope,   by  which  they  were  enabled 
to  perform  several  authoritative  acts,   which  they  could  not 
by  the  mere  virtue  of  episcopal  power:  hence  the  rights 
of  bishops  and  synods  became  gradually   and  entirely  de- 
pendent on  the  authority  of  the  pope. ' 

DAMIAN,  or   DAMIANO  (Peter),  an   eminent   car- 
dinal, was  born  at  Ravenna  in  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh 
centurj^  became  a  Benedictine,  and,  it  is  thought,  would 
always    have  preferred    solitude    to    the    dignities   of   the 
church,  if  he  had  not  been  in  some  measure  forced  to  ac- 
cept   them.     In    1057   he    was    created   cardinal  by  j)ope 
Stephen  IX.  and  under  pope  Nicolas  U.  was  sent  as  papal 
legate   to   Milan,  to   reform  certain  clerical  abuses,  which 
he  successfully  accomplished,  and  even   turned  his  argu- 
ments against  his   superiors,  whom    he    found   licentious, 
without  any  respect  for  their  rank  or  power.     Among  other 
proofs  of  his  zeal,  he  publicly  condemned  the  liberty  which 
the  popes  took  of  opposing  the  emperors  in  cases  of  war  ; 
affirming,  that  the  offices  of  emperor  and  pope  are  distinct, 
and  that  the  empepors  ought  not   to  meddle  with   what  be- 
longs  to   the  popes,   nor  the  popes  with  what  belongs  to 
the  emperors.     "  As  the  son  of  God,"    says   he,    "  sur- 
mounted  all   the  obstacles  of  worldly   power,   not  by  the 

•  Moreri.  — Cave, — Lardner. — Fab.  Bibl.  Med.  Lat. — Dupin. — Saxii  Oiiomast. 


D  A  M  I  A  N.  247 

severity  of  vengeance,  but  by  the  lively  majesty  of  an  in- 
vincible patience,  so  has  lie  taught  us  rather  to  bear  the 
fury  of  the  world  with  constancy,  than  to  take  up  arms 
against  those  who  offend  us  ;  especially  since  between  the 
royalty  and  the  priesthood  there  is  such  a  dibtinction  of 
offices,  that  it  belongs  to  the  king  to  use  secular  arms,  and 
to  the  priest  to  gird  on  the  sword  of  the  spirit,  which  is 
the  word  of  God,"  &c.  Damian  described  also  in  a  verv 
lively  manner  the  enormous  vices  of  his  age,  in  several  of 
Iiis  works;  in  his  Gomorrhajus  particularly,  which,  though 
pope  Alexander  II.  thought  fit  to  suppress  it,  lias  never- 
theless been  preserved.  Disa|)pointed,  however,  in  his 
hopes  of  producing  any  favourable  change,  he  resigned  all 
his  preferments  in  the  church  in  1061,  although  he  appears 
afterwards  to  have  been  employed  on  missions  as  legate. 
He  died  in  1073,  and  his  writings,  while  in  MS.  must  have 
been  frequently  read  and  admired,  as  we  find  that  between 
five  and  six  centuries  after  his  death  they  were  ordered  to 
be  printed  by  Clement  VIII.  who  employed  Constantine 
Cajelan  as  editor.  This  first  edition  was  published  at 
Rome  in  3  vols.  fol.  1606,  1608,  1615,  and  reprinted  at 
Leyden,  1623,  fol.  In  1G40  Cajetan  added  a  fourth  vo- 
lume. The  whole  were  afterwards  reprinted  at  Paris  in 
1642  and  1663,  in  a  thick  folio.  These  works  consist  of 
**  Letters,"  of  which  a  separate  edition  had  been  published 
at  Paris,  1609,  4to,  "  Sermons,"  "  Dissertations,"  &c.  &.c.* 
DAMPIER  (Capt.  William),  a  celebrated  English  na- 
vigator, descended  from  a  good  family  in  Somersetshire, 
was  born  in  1652  ;  but  losing  his  father  when  very  young, 
he  was  sent  to  sea,  where  he  soon  distinguished  himself, 
particularly  in  the  South  Sea.  He  associated  himself  with 
capt.  Cook,  in  order  to  cruize  on  the  Spaniards;  and,  Aug, 
23,  1683,  sailed  from  Achamac  in  Virginia  for  the  Cape 
de  Verde  islands.  After  touching  at  several  of  them,  he 
steered  for  the  Streights  of  Magellan  ;  but,  the  wind  being 
against  them,  they  stood  over  for  the  Guinea  coast,  and  in 
a  tew  days  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  Sherborough  river, 
where  the  ship's  crew  were  hospitably  received  by  the  in- 
habitants. He  then  proceeded  to  the  South  Seas  through 
the  Streights  of  Magellan  ;  and,  arriving  at  the  isle  of  Juan 
Fernandez,  took  on  board  a  Moskito  Indian,  who  had  been 

'  Gen.  Diet. — IVIoreri    in  art.  Pierre. — Fabricius  Bibl.   Lat.  Med.  Si  Inf.->» 
Dupin,  and  Saxii  Oiiomast.  in  Peter. 


248  D  A  M  P  I  E  R. 

left  in  that  uninhabited  place  above  three  years  before. 
After  staying  fourteen  days  at  this  island,  they  set  sail 
April  8,  16S4,  steering  towards  the  line,  off  the  islands  of 
Peru  and  Chili  ;  took  several  prizes,  and  proceeded  to  the 
Gallipago  islands,  and  from  thence  to  cape  Blanco,  where 
captain  Cook  was  interred.  July  19,  Mr.  Edward  Davis 
was  appointed  captain  in  the  room  of  Cook,  sailed  the  next 
day  towards  Rio  Leja,  and  from  thence  to  the  gulph  of 
Aniapalla ;  and  Sept.  20th  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  island 
of  Plata,  Here  they  made  a  descent  upon  Plata,  attacked 
the  fort,  and  took  it  with  little  opposition.  But  finding 
that  the  governor  and  inhabitants  had  quitted  the  town, 
and  carried  off  their  money,  goods,  and  provisions,  they 
set  fire  to  it,  and  afterwards  sailed  for  Guaiquil,  and  at- 
tacked it,  but  without  success. 

They  entered  now  the  bay  of  Panama :  for  their  design 
was  to  look  into  some  river  unfrequented  by  the  Spaniards, 
in   search   of  canoes ;  and  therefore   they  endeavoured  to 
make  the  river  St.  Jago,  on  account  of  its  nearness  to  the 
island  of  Gallo,  in  which  there  is  much  gold,  and  safe  an- 
chorage  for  ships.     Dampier   with  some  others,   in    four 
canoes,  ventured  to  row  six  leagues  up  the  river;  but  the 
Indians,    at  their   approach,   got    into   their    canoes,    and 
paddled   away  against   the  stream  much  faster  than  they 
could  follow.     They  therefore  returned  the  next  morning 
in  order  to  sail  for  the  island  of  Gallo  ;  and  in  their   ^▼ay 
took  a   Spanish   pacquet-boat,  sent  with  dis})atches   from 
Panama  to   Lima,  by  which  they  learned  that  the  armada, 
being  arrived  from    Spain   at  Porto  Bello,  waited  for  the 
plate   fleet  from   Lima,  which  made  them  resolve  to  ren- 
dezvous among  the  King's  or  Pearl  Islands,  by  which  all 
the  ships  bound   to  Panama  from  Lima  must  necessarily 
pass.     On   May   28th  they  discovered   the  Spanish  fleet; 
but  night  approaching,  they   exchanged   only  a  few  shot. 
The  Spanish  admiral,  by  the   artifice  of  a  false  light,  got 
the  weather-gage  of  them  the  next  day,  and  came  up  to 
them  with  full  sail,  which  obliged  them  to  make  a  running 
fight  of  it  ail   round  the  bay  of  Panama,  and  thus  their 
long-projected  design   ended  unsuccessfully.     They  sailed 
now  for   ihe  island  of  Quibo,   where  they  found  captain 
Harris;  and  as  their  late  attempt  at  sea  had  been  fruitless, 
they  resolved  to  try  their  fortune  by  land,  by  attackmg  the 
city  of  Leon,  on   the  coast  of  Mexico.     This  place  they 
took   and  buri}t,  and  proceeded  to  llio  Leja,  which  thev 
filfio  tooj^. 


D  A  M  P  I  E  R.  249 

Here  Dampier  left  captain  Davis,  and  went  on  board 
captain  Swan,  in  order  to  satisfy  his  curiosity  by  obtain- 
ing^ a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  northern  parts  of 
Mexico.  They  continued  sailing  to  the  westward  till  they 
came  to  Guatuico,  one  of  the  best  ports  in  the  kingdom  of 
Mexico ;  and  from  thence  to  Cape  Cerientes,  where  they 
waited  some  time  in  hopes  of  meeting  with  a  galleon,  of 
whicii  tl>ey  had  received  information.  They  continued 
cruizing  off  this  cape  till  Jan.  1,  when  their  pjovisions 
being  exhausted,  they  steered  to  the  valley  of  Valderas  to 
procure  a  supply  of  beef.  And  while  they  were  engaged 
in  this  necessary  business,  the  Manilla  ship  passed  by 
them  to  the  eastward.  After  this  they  steered  towards 
California,  and  anchored  in  one  of  the  Tres  Maria  islands. 
Dampier,  having  been  long  sick  of  a  dropsy,  was  here 
buried  for  about  half  an  hour  up  to  the  neck  in  sand, 
which  threw  him  into  a  profuse  sweat;  and  being  after- 
wards wrapped  up  warm,  and  put  to  bed  in  a  tent,  found 
great  beneht  from  this  extraordinary  remedy. 

Their  success  in  this  part  of  the  world  having  been  very 
indifferent,  and  there  appearing  no  probability  of  its  mend- 
ing. Swan  and  Dampier  agreed  to  steer  their  course  for 
the  East  Indies.  They  sailed  to  St.  John's  island,  and  to 
the  Piscadores,  to  Bouton  island,  to  New  Holland,  to 
Triest;  and  arriving  at  Nicobar,  Dampier  with  others  was 
left  on  shore,  and  treated  with  great  civility  by  the  inha- 
bitants. He,  however,  left  them,  and  arrived  at  the  Eng- 
lish factory  at  Achen,  where  he  became  acquainted  with 
captain  Bowry,  who  would  have  persuaded  him  to  sail  with 
him  to  Persia  in  quality  of  boatswain  :  but  he  declined  ac- 
cepting of  this  proposal,  on  account  of  the  ill  state  of  his 
health.  He  afterwards  engaged  with  captain  Weldon,  un- 
der whom  he  made  several  trading  voyages,  for  upwards 
of  fifteen  months,  and  afterwards  entered  as  a  gunner  to 
an  English  factory  at  Bencoolen.  Upon  this  coast  he 
;^taid  till  1691,  and  then  embarked  for  England,  when  he 
was  obliged  to  make  his  escape  by  creeping  through  one 
of  the  port-holes,  for  the  governor  had  revoked  his  pro- 
mise of  allowing  him  to  depart;  but  he  brought  off  his 
journal  and  most  valuable  papers.  He  arrived  in  the 
Downs  Sept.  16  j  and  being  in  want  of  money,  sold  his 
property  in  a  painted  Indian  prince,  who  was  carried  about 
for  a  sight,  and  shewn  for  money.  He  appears  afterv\ards 
to  have  been  concerned  in  an  expedition  concerted  by  the 
merchants  of  Bristol  to  the  South  Sea,  commanded  by  cap- 


250  D  A  M  P  I  E  R. 

tain  Woodes  Rogers,  which  sailed  in  Aug.  1708,  and  re- 
turned Sept.  1711;  a  voyage  attended  with  many  singular 
circumstances,  and  a  great  number  of  curious  and  enter- 
taining events.  We  have  no  further  particulars  of  Dam- 
pier's  hfe  or  death.  His  "  Voyage  round  the  Workl"  has 
gone  through  many  editions,  and  the  substance  of  it  has 
been  transterred  to  many  collections  of  voyages.  It  was 
first  published  in  3  vols.  8vo,   Lond.  1697.* 

DANCHET  (Anthony),  a  French  poet,  was  born  at 
Riom  in  Auvergne  in  1671  ;  and  went  to  Paris,  where  he 
distinguished  himself  very  early  in  the  republic  of  letters. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  invited  to  Chartres,  to  be 
professor  of  rhetoric  ;  which  office  he  discharged  with  high 
repute  for  four  years.  Upon  his  return  to  Paris,  he  de- 
voted his  labours  entirely  to  the  service  of  the  theatre,  for 
which  he  continued  to  write  songs,  operas,  and  tragedies, 
to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  was  admitted  a  member  of  the 
academy  of  inscriptions  in  1706,  and  of  the  French  aca- 
demy in  1712.  He  had  a  place  in  the  king's  library,  and 
died  at  Paris  Feb.  21,  174S.  His  works  were  collected  and 
printed  at  Paris,  1751,  in  4  vols.  12mo.  As  a  man  Dan- 
chet  was  highly  esteemed  for  the  qualities  of  his  mind,  and 
the  mildness  of  his  temper ;  he  was  sincere,  upright,  and 
disinterested,  and  was  an  enemy  to  every  species  of  satire 
and  calumny,  weapons  too  frequently  used  by  poets  and 
men  of  genius.  Of  this  a  singular  instance  is  on  record. 
One  of  his  rivals  having  insulted  him  in  a  published  satire, 
Danchet  sent  him  privately  an  epigrammatic  answer  of  the 
severest  cast,  which  he  assured  him  no  other  person  had 
seen,  and  begged  him  to  observe,  that  it  was  as  easy  as 
shameful  for  men  of  letters  to  embark  in  such  kind  of 
warfare. " 

DANCKERT,  or  DANCKERTS,  is  the  name  of  a  fa- 
mily  of  engravers  of  considerable  reputation  in  Holland. 
Cornelius  DANCKErsTs,  who  was  born  at  Amsterdam  in 
1561,  established  himself  at  Antwerp  as  a  print-seller; 
but  he  did  not  suflfcr  this  employment  to  engross  his  whole 
time,  as  he  engraved  many  portraits,  landscapes,  and  his- 
torical pieces,  as  well  from  his  own  comj)ositions  as  from 
the  designs  of  Berghem,  Rembrandt,  and  others.  His  son, 
Danckekt  Danckerts,  who   was  born  at  Antwerp  about 

»  Preceding  edit,  of  ihis  Dictionary,  taken  chiefly  from  bis  Voyage. 
*  Moreri. — Did.  Hist. 


D  A  N  C  K  E  R  T.  251 

IfiOO,  also  engraved  dilTerent  subjects,  as  well  from  his 
own  designs  as  from  those  of  other  artists  ;  and  though 
}iis  pieces  are  not  so  numerous  as  his  father's,  they  sur- 
pass them  in  merit.  Danckert  combmed  the  point  and 
the  graver  with  very  great  success,  and  the  pieces  from 
Bergliem  and  Wouvermanns,  which  he  has  wrought  in  this 
manner,  are  much  esteemed. 

John  Danckerts,  of  the  same  family,  a  designer  and 
engraver,  about    1654-  settled  at   Amsterdam;    but    being 
invited   into  England,  he   went   to  London,   where  he  de- 
signed for  the  EngUsh   Juvenal,   the  plates    engraved    by 
Hollar.     This    artist  also   engraved  some  plates.      Henry 
Danckerts,  his  brother,  was  also  bred  an  engraver,  but 
afterwards  became  a  landscape-painter.      He   was  bvjrn  at 
the  Hague,  but  ^at  an   early  age  travelled  into  Italy,   from 
whence  he  came  to  England.      Here  he  enjoyed  the  favour 
of  Charles   II.   who  employed  him  to   draw  views  ot"  the 
British   sea-ports,  and  royal   palaces.      Dm-ing  the  distur- 
bances   which    preceded    the    abdication    of  James  II.   he 
quitted  E.ngland  for  Amsterdam,   where  he  died  soon  after. 
The  landscajies  painted  by  this  artist  were  numerous,  and 
are    chieHy  to  be  found  in  England.     Amongst  them  are 
Views  of  Windsor,    Plymouth,   Penzance,   <kc.      He   also 
engraved  from  Vandyk,  Titian,  Jacopo  Palnm,   &c.    Jus- 
Tcs  Danckerts,  of  the  same  i'amdy,  was  a  designer,  en- 
graver, and  print-seller,  and  resided  in  Amsterdam.    .The 
following   plates  bear  his  name :  the    Portrait  of  Casimir, 
king  of  Poland;  a  ditto  of  William  HI.  prince  of  Orange; 
the  Harbours  of  Amsterdam,  a  set  of  seven   pieces.     One 
other    ot    the    name    remains    to    be   noticed,    Cornelius 
Danckerts.     The    circumstance    of    both    Milizia    and 
Heinecken  dating  the  birth  of  this  architect  in  1.561,  and 
saying  that  he  was  born  in  Amsterdam  (the  very  time  and 
place  of  the  birth  ot"  Cornelius  Danckerts  mentioned  above), 
leads  us  to   suspect  some  chronological  error,   if  not,   in- 
deed,  that  these  two  artists  were  one  and  the  same  person. 
Cornelius  was  originally  a  stonemason,  but  afterwards  ap- 
plied himself  to  architecture.     He  constructed   in  the  city 
of  A;nsterJam   many   public  and  private  buildings,   highly 
creditable  to   his   talents  on    account  of  their   l)eauty  and 
convenience,  and,  amongst  others,   three  of  the  princii)al 
churches,  the  exchange,  and  the  gate  which  leads  tj  Haar- 
lem, the  most  beautiful  of  the  city.     He  had  a  son  named 


252  D  A  N  C  K  E  R  T. 

Peter,  who  was  born  at  Amsterdam  in  1605,  and  after- 
wards became  painter  to  Uladislaiis,  king  of  Poland. ' 
D'ANCOUKT.  See  ANCOURT. 
DANDINI  (Hercules  Francis),  count,  and  professor 
of  law  at  Padua,  was  born  at  Ancona  in  1696,  and  arrived 
at  high  reputation  as  a  lawyer.  Among  his  works  are,  1. 
"  De  Forensi  scrihendi  ratione."  2.  "  De  ser\  itutibus 
praediorum  interpretationes  per  epistolas,"  &c.  lie  died 
in  November  1747,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two,  lamented  on 
account  of  his  learning  and  virtues.' 

DANDINI    (Jerome),  an  Italian  Jesuit,  was  born   at 
Cesena  in  the  ecclesiastical  state  in  1554,    and  was  the 
first  of  his  order  who  taught  philosophy  at  Paris.     He  bore 
several  honourable  offices  in  the  society  ;  for,  besides  teach- 
ing divinity  at  Padua,  he  was  rector  of  the  several  colleges 
at  Ferrara,  Forli,  Bologna,  Parma,  and  Milan  ;  visitor  in 
the  provinces  of  Venice,  Toulouse,  and  Guienne;  provin- 
cial in  Poland,  and  in  the  Milanese.    He  taught  philosophy 
in  Perugia,  1596,  when  he  was  appointed  by  Clement  VIII. 
to  be  his  nuncio  to  the  Maronites  of  mount  Lihanus.      He 
embarked  at  Venice  in  July  the  same  year,  and  returned 
to  Rome  in  August  the  year  following.     The  French  trans- 
lation which  was  made  of  his  journey  to  Mount  Libanus 
by  father  Simon,  was  printed  at  Paris  in  1675,  and  re- 
printed at  the  Hague  in  1685,     Dandini's  book  was  printed 
at  Cesena  in  1656,  under  the  title  of  "  Missione  aposto- 
lica  al  patriarcha  e  Maroniti  del  Monte  Libano."     It  con- 
tains the  relation  of  his  journey  to  the  Maronites  and  to 
Jerusalem  j  but  father  Simon  has  left  out  the  journey  to 
Jerusalem  in   his  translation,  because,    he  says,  there   is 
nothing  in  it  but  what  has  been  observed  by  travellers  al- 
ready.    Dandini  died  at   Forli,   1634,  aged   eighty.     His 
commentary  on  the  three  books  of  Aristotle   "  de  Anima" 
was   printed  at  Paris,   1611,  in  folio  ;  and  after  his  death 
his  "  Ethica  sacra,  de  virtutibus  et  vitiis,"  was  printed  at 
Cesena,   1651,  fol. ' 

DANDINI  (CiCSAR),  an  historical  painter,  was  born  at 
Florence  in  1595,  and  v/as  the  elder  brother  and  first  in- 
structor of  Vincent  Dandini,  the  uncle  of  Pietro.  This 
master  had  successively  studied  as  a  disciple  with  Curradi, 
Passignano,   and   Christofano  Allori ;    from  whom  he  ac-. 

'  Strutt. — Walpole.— Rees's  Cyclopaedia. 

'  Fabroni  Vitae  Italorum. — Diet.  Hist.  3  Gen,  Diet, — Morefj. 


D  A  N  D  I  N  I.  233 

<Juired  a  very  pleasing  but  fugitive  manner  of  colouring. 
He  was  extremely  correct  in  his  drawing,  and  finished  iiis 
pictures  highly.  His  best  altar-piece  is  at  Ancona,  and 
several  other  noble  altar-pieces  in  the  churches  of  Flo- 
rence are  of  his  hand  ;  one,  which  is  in  the  chapel  I'An- 
nonciata,   is  particularly  admired.      He  died  in  1658.  ^ 

DANDINI  (Vincent),  brother  to  the  preceding,  was 
born  at  Florence  in  1607.  After  having  been  taught  the 
first  rudiments  of  his  art  by  his  brother,  he  studied  some 
time  at  Rome  under  Pietro  da  Cortona,  and  copied  with 
the  greatest  assiduity  the  master-pieces  of  art  in  the  palaces 
and  temples  of  that  city.  He  was  considered  one  of  the 
best  of  Cortona's  scholars,  and  met  with  ample  encourage- 
ment from  tlie  grand  duke,  as  well  as  from  private  persons, 
on  his  return  to  Florence.  One  of  his  best  altar-pieces, 
which  are  frequent  at  Florence,  is  the  Conception  of  the 
Virgin,  in  the  church  of  Ognisanti.  ^ 

DANDINI  (RjETRO),  an  eminent  painter,  nephew  to 
the  preceding,  was  born  at  Florence  in  1646,  and  received 
his  first  instruction  in  the  art  of  painting  from  Valerio 
iJpada,  who  excelled  in  small  drawings  with  a  pen.  Whilst 
he  was  under  the  tuition  of  that  artist  he  gave  such  evident 
proofs  of  genius,  that  he  was  then  placed  as  a  disciple  with 
his  uncle  Vincent.  He  afterwards  travelled  through  most 
of  the  cities  of  Italy,  studying  the  works  of  those  who 
were  most  distinguished  ;  and  resided  for  a  long  time  at 
Venice,  where  he  copied  the  paintings  of  Titian,  Tinto- 
retto, and  Paolo  Veronese.  He  next  visited  Parma  and 
Modena,  to  study  the  works  of  Correggio  ;  omitting  no 
opportunity  that  might  contribute  to  improve  his  hand  or 
his  judgment.  When  he  returned  to  Florence,  the  grand 
duke  Cosmo  III.  the  grand  duchess  Victoria,  and  the 
prince  Ferdinand,  kept  him  perpetually  em[)loyed,  in 
fresco  painting  as  well  as  in  oil ;  his  subjects  being  taken 
not  only  from  sacred  or  fabulous  history,  but  from  his  own 
invention  and  fancy,  which  frequently  furnished  him  with 
such  as  were  odd  and  singular,  and  especially  with  whim- 
sical caricatures.  He  died  in  1712. — This  master  had  an 
extraordinary  talent  for  imitating  the  style  of  even  the 
most  celebrated  ancient  painters  of  every  school,  particu- 
larly Titian,  Veronese,  and  Tintoretto ;  and  with  a  force 
and  elegance,  equal  to  his  subjects  of  history,  he  painted 

'  Pilkipytou.  *  Laozi. — Rees't  CyclopseJia. 


254  D  A  N  D  I  NM. 

poi-traits,  landscapes,  architecture,  flowers,  fruit,  battles, 
animals  of  all  kinds,  and  likewise  sea-pieces ;  proving 
himself  an  universal  artist,  and  excellent  in  every  thing  he 
undertook.  Mr.  Fuseli,  however,  says  that  the  avidity  of 
gain  led  him  to  dispatch  and  a  general  mediocrity,  com- 
pensated by  little  more  than  the  a  hnirable  freedom  of  his 
pencil.  He  exerted  his  powers  according  to  the  price  he 
received  for  his  work:  thev  are  seen  to  advantage  in  the 
cupolas  of  S.  Maria  Maddalena,  in  various  frescos  of  the 
ducal  palace  and  villas,  and  in  the  public  hall  of  Pisa, 
where  he  represented  the  taking  of  Jerusalem.  There  are 
likewise  altar-pieces  which  shew  his  merit :  that  of  St. 
Francis  in  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  and  another  of  S.  Piccolo- 
mini  saying  mass  in  the  church  a'Servi,  a  pleasing  ani- 
mated performance.  He  had  a  son,  Octavio,  who  proved 
not  inferior  to  him  in  any  branch  of  his  profession,  and 
was  an  honour  to  his  family  and  his  country. ' 

DANDOLO  (Andrew),  doge  of  Venke,  merits  some 
notice  here  as  one  of  the  first  historians  of  his  country. 
He  was  born  in  1310,  and  in  1344  became  doge,  being 
not  only  distinguished  for  military  and  political  knowledge, 
but  for  considerable  attainments  in  literature.  By  his 
means  Venice  was  first  enabled  to  extend  her  commerce  to 
Eg}pt,  which,  however,  had  the  bad  effect  of  involving 
Venice  and  Genoa  in  a  war,  in  the  course  of  which  he  lost 
his  life  in  1354.  As  an  author  he  is  mentioned  for  his 
"  Chronicle  of  Venice,"  which  comprehends  the  history 
of  the  republic  from  its  foundation  to  the  year  1342  ;  and 
to  him  has  been  ascribed  the  compilation  of  the  sixth 
book  of  Venetian  statutes.  His  chronicle  obtained  con- 
siderable reputation  for  impartiality,  and  for  the  exhibition 
of  authentic  documents  which  the  author  produced  to  sub- 
stantiate his  facts.  Petrarch,  with  whom  he  corresponded, 
Blondus,  Justinian,  Sabellicus,  Leander,  and  Cuspinian, 
always  niention  this  Chronicle  with  praise.  It  is  inserted 
in  Muratori's  collection,  with  a  continuation  to  1388,  by 
Caresino. ' 

DANDRE-BARDON  (Michael  Francis),  one  of  the 
professors  of  the  academy  of  painting,  &c.  was  born  May 
22,  1700,  at  Aix  in  Provence,  and  was  first  intended  for 
the  study  of  the  law,  but  disliking  it  at  the  outset,  he  took 

*   Pilkiniiton,  original  edit'on,  and  Fuseli's. 
8  Moreri.— Saxii  Ouomaslicoa. 


DANDRE-BARDON.  255 

lessons  in  painting  from  Vanloo  and  De  I'roy,  and  soon 
distinguislied  himself  botii  as  a  painter  and  as  a  writer.  He 
succeeded  mure  particularly  in  historical  pictures,  and  un- 
doubtedly had  an  affection  for  all  the  arts,  was  a  man  of 
considerable  learning,  and  in  society  was  sensible,  upright, 
and  friendly.  He  died  at  Marseilles,  where  he  was  di- 
rector of  the  academy,  April  14,  17»3.  Some  of  his 
writings  gained  him  much  reputation.  The  principal  of  them 
are,  l.*'De  I'utilite  d'un  Cours  d'Histoire  pour  les  artistes," 
1751.  2.  "  Principes  du  Dessin,"  1754,  l2mo.  3.  *' Anec- 
^dotes  sur  la  Mort  de  Bouchardon,"  1764.  4.  "  Vie  de 
Carle  Vanloo,"  1765,  12mo.  5.  *'  Monumens  de  la  ville 
de  Reims,"  1765,  12mo.  6.  "  Traite  de  Peiuture,"  1765, 
2  vols.  12mo.  7.  *'  Histoire  universelle  relative  aux  arts," 
1769,  3  vols.  l-2mo.  8.  "  Costumes  des  ancieiis  peuples," 
1776,  4to.  Tliis  curious  collection  was  republished  in  a 
very  enlarged  form  by  Cochin,  in  4  vols.  1786  and  1792, 
4to.  Dandre-Bardon  wrote  also  some  poetry,  but  that  his 
countrymen  seem  inclined'  to  forget.' 

DANEAU,  or  DANiEUS  (Lambert),  an  eminent 
French  protestant  divine,  was  born  at  Orleans  about  the 
year  1530.  Having  at  first  an  inclination  for  the  law,  he 
studied  that  science  in  his  native  city  for  four  years  under 
Anne  du  Bourg,  then  a  teacher  of  high  reputation,  and 
who,  after  holding  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  parliament  of 
Paris  for  two  years,  was  strangled  and  burnt,  Dec.  20, 
1559,  for  his  adherence  to  the  protestant  faith.  Affected 
by  the  constancy  with  which  his  master  suffered,  and  of 
which  he  appears  to  have  been  an  eye-witness,  and  refer- 
ring such  constancy  to  its  proper  source,  Daneau  embraced 
the  pri-nciples  of  the  deceased  martyr,  and  the  following 
year  retired  to  Geneva,  where  he  could  enjoy  his  religion 
wnmolested.  From  this  tiuie  he  gave  over  all  thoughts  of 
the  law,  and  began  the  stud}'  of  divinity,  in  which  he  made 
such  progress  as  to  be  acknowledged  one  of  the  ablest  di- 
vines of  the  protestant  persuasion.  At  Geneva  he  became 
one  of  their  preachers,  and  professor  of  divinity.  In  I5SI 
he  was  invited  to  Leyden  in  the  same  character,  and  taught 
there  about  a  year.  He  at  length  returned  to  France,  and 
after  residing  some  time  at  Orthes,  finally  took  up  his  abode 
at  Castres,  where  he  exercised  the  functions  of  the  minis- 
try until  the  year  1596,  when  he  died.     His  works  are  very 

*  Diet.  Hist,  in  art.  Bardic, 


256  D  A  N  E  A  U. 

numerous.  A  considerable  collection  of  them  Was  pab^ 
Jished  by  himself  at  Geneva  in  1583,  in  a  large  folio  volume, 
divided  into  three  classes,  didactic,  exegetic,  and  polemic. 
But,  besides  these,  Nicerou  and  other  authors  give  a  very 
large  catalogue  of  separate  publications,  commentaries  on 
the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  and  moral,  historical,  and  geogra- 
phical treatises.  One  of  these,  *'  Pn'mi  mundi  antiqtiitatum 
sectiones  quatuor,"  was  published  in  English  by  Thomas 
Twine,  under  the  title  of  "The  wonderful  workmanship 
of  the  World,"  1578,  4to.  His  "  Les  Sorciers"  was  also 
published  here  in  1564,  under  the  title,  "  A  Dialogue  of 
Witches.'" 

DANES  (PtTER),  born  in  1497,  at  Paris,  of  a  noble 
family,  studied  at  the  college  of  Navarre,  and  was  the 
pupil  of  Budeus  and  of  John  Lascaris.  Being  appointed 
b}'  Francis  I.  to  open  the  Greek  school  at  the  college-royal, 
he  was  professor  there  for  five  years,  and  had  scholars  that 
afterwards  signalized  themselves.  He  next  became  pre- 
ceptor and  confessor  to  the  dauphin,  afterwards  Francis  H. 
He  was  sent  to  the  council  of  Trent,  where  he  delivered  a 
very  celebrated  speech  in  1546,  which  was  afterwards  pub- 
lished ;  and  during  the  session  of  this  council  he  was  made 
bishop  of  Lavaur,  Sponde  and  de  Thou  have  handed  down 
to  us  an  ingenious  answer  of  this  prelate.  Nicholas 
Pseaume,  bishop  of  Verdun,  sjieaking  very  freely  one  day 
in  the  council,  the  bishop  of  Orvietta  looking  at  the 
French,  said  to  them  with  a  sarcastic  smile,  "  Gallus  can- 
tat,"  (the  cock  crows),  "  Utinam,"  replied  Danes,  "  ad 
istud  Gallicinium  Petrus  resipisceret !"  (I  wish  that  Peter 
would  repent  at  this  cock's  crowing.)  This  prelate  died  at 
Paris  the  23d  of  April,  1577,  at  the  age  of  80.  He  had 
been  married.  When  news  was  brought  him  of  the  death 
of  his  only  son,  he  retired  for  a  moment  into  his  closet ; 
and,  on  rejoining  the  company,  "  Let  us  be  comforted," 
said  he,  "  the  poor  have  gained  their  cause,"  alluding  to 
liis  being  wont  to  distribute  a  part  of  his  revenues  among 
the  poor,  which  he  now  thought  he  might  increase.  With 
the  erudition  of  a  true  scholar  he  had  the  talent  of  speaking 
well,  integrity  of  character,  and  a  great  simplicity  of  man- 
ners. His  custom  was  to  write  much,  and  almost  always 
to  conceal  his  name.     It   has  been  suspected    by  some 

•  Melchior    Adam. — Nieeron,     vol.    XXVII. — Frehcri     Th«atnim. — Bailj^et- 
J»Jj(eiueiis.— Morcii.— Saxii  Onoinasticoov 


DANES.  257 

critics  that  the  tenth  book  of  the  history  of  France,  by 
Paulus  ^milius,  is  his.  At  least  it  was  Danes  who  sent  it 
from  Venice  to  the  printer  Vascosan.  His  "  Opuscuia" 
were  collected  and  printed  in  1731,  4to,  by  the  car^  of 
Peter  Hilary  Danes,  of  the  same  family  with  the  bishop  of 
Lavaur,  who  added  the  life  of  the  author.  The  ahbe 
Lenglet  du  Fresnoi  attributes  to  P.  Danes,  two  Apologies 
for  king  Henry  II.  printed  in  Latin  in  1542,  4to.  One 
publication  of  Danes's  merits  particular  notice,  viz.  aa 
edition  of  Pliny  the  elder,  very  beautiful  and  correct, 
Paris,  1532,  folio.  This,  for  whatever  reason,  bethought 
proper  to  publish  under  the  name  of  Bellocirius,  i.  e.  Bel- 
letiere,  the  name  of  one  of  his  servants.  The  short  and 
elegant  preface,  so  highly  praised  by  Rezzonicus  in  his 
*'  Disquisitiones  Pliniani,"  is  to  be  found  among  our  author's 
"  Opuscula."  This  edition  is  so  rare  on  the  continent  that 
Rezzonicus  was  able  to  find  only  two  copies  of  it  in  Spain, 
and  not  a  single  one  in  Italy ;  and  Ernesti  pronounces  it 
as  valuable  as  it  is  rare. ' 

DANET  (Petek),  a  French  cure  at  Paris,  and  after- 
wards abbe  of  St.  Nicholas  de  Verdun,  of  which  he  took 
possession  in  1674,  devoted  the  principal  part  of  his  life  to 
grammatical  studies,  and  produced  some  works  which  at 
that  time  were  important  to  the  literature  of  his  countr}-. 
His  first  publication  appeared  under  the  title  of  "  Radices 
Lingute  Latinie,"  8vo,  a  work  somewhat  incorrectly  printed, 
which  was  followed  by  his  two  Dictionaries,  both  in  4to, 
French  and  Latin,  and  Latin  and  French,  in  which  the 
Latin  part  was  considered  as  best  executed.  Although 
both  have  been  supplanted  by  works  more  ample  and 
accurate,  they  could  not  fail  at  that  time  of  facilitating  the 
study  of  the  Latin  among  his  countrymen.  He  published 
also,  "  Dictionarium  antiquitatum  Romanarum  et  Grseca- 
rum,"  for  the  use  of  the  dauphin,  Paris,  1698  and  1701, 
4to,  and  published  in  English  at  London  in  1700.  Danet 
being  one  of  the  scholars  appointed  as  editors  of  the  Del- 
phin  classics,  produced  the  Phoedrus,  which,  although  it 
has  been  often  printed,  is  reckoned  inferior  to  the  subse- 
quent editions.  He  died  at  Paris  in  1709.  His  contem- 
porary Baillet  has  spoken  with  great  candour  of  all  his 
publications.* 

>  Niceron,    vol.  XIX. — Moreri. — Fieheri  Theatrum. — Dibd'm's   Classics.-* 
Saxii  Oiiomasticon. 
2  Moreri. — Diet,  Hist. — Baillet  Jugemens, 

Vol.  XI.  S 


25S  D  A  N  G  E  A  U. 

DANGEAU  (Louis  Courcillon  de),  a  French  abbe, 
and  a  man  of  family,  was  the  son  of  Louis  de  Courcillon, 
lord  of  Dangeau,  &c.  by  a  daughter  of  the  celebrated  Ples- 
sis-JMotnay.  He  was  born  in  January  1643,  and  educated 
in  the  protestant  religion,  which  was  that  of  his  family,  and 
which  he  professed  in  1667,  when  envoy  extraordinary  in 
Poland  ;  but  he  was  afterwards  induced  to  become  a  Ro- 
man catholic,  and  entered  into  the  church,  in  which  he 
held  some  benefices,  although  none  of  such  importance  as 
might  have  been  expected  from  his  merits  and  family  in- 
terest. In  1671  he  purchased  the  office  of  reader  to  the 
king,  which  he  sold  again  in  1685.  In  1680  the  king- 
gave  him  the  abbey  of  Fontaine- Daniel,  and  in  1710  that 
of  Clermont,  and  he  was  also  prior  of  Gournay  and  St. 
Anioul.  He  devoted  himself,  however,  principally  to  the 
belles  lettres,  the  study  of  which  he  endeavoured  to  faci- 
litate by  various  new  modes  of  instruction,  some  of  which 
were  successful,  and  others  rather  whimsical.  In  the  same 
wa}',  by  some  new  expedients,  he  endeavoured  to  increase 
the  knowledge  of  history,  geography,  heraldry,  grammar, 
&c.  and  his  services  were  so  highly  esteemed,  that  in  1682 
he  was  admitted  into  the  French  academy,  and  in  1698 
into  that  of  the  Ricovrati  of  Padua.  His  own  house,  in- 
deed, was  a  species  of  academ}',  where  men  of  taste  and 
learning  were  invited  to  assemble  once  a  week  for  conver- 
sation. The  abbe  Dangeau  was  an  accomplished  scholar : 
besides  the  sciences  we  have  mentioned,  he  knew  Greek, 
Latin,  Spanish,  Italian,  Portuguese,  German,  &c.  Being 
admitted  into  the  confidence  of  his  sovereign,  he  took  fre- 
quent opportunities  to  promote  learning  and  learned  men, 
and  along  with  his  brother  the  n)arquis  Dangeau  estab- 
lished a  school  for  the  education  of  young  men  of  family, 
the  superintendance  of  which  he  took  upon  himself;  but 
this  did  not  last  above  ten  years,  the  wars  having  obliged 
the  king  to  withdraw  the  pecuniar3-  assistance  he  had  given, 
a  striking  proof  of  the  necessities  to  which  Louis  XIV.  was 
sometimes  driven  by  his  ambition.  He  died  Jan.  1,  1723, 
leaving  the  character  of  aman  whose  virtues  were  superior  to 
his  knowledge,  extensive  as  the  latter  was.  "His  huuianity 
towards  the  sons  and  dan<ihters  of  misfortune  was  such 
(says  his  eulogist  M.  d'Alembert),  that,  with  but  a  mode- 
rate fortune,  lie  was  lavish  of  his  bounty  towards  the  poor, 
and  added  to  his  benefits  the  more  uncommon  benefit  of 
concealing  them.     He  possessed   that  prudent  oeconomy. 


t)  A  N  G  E  A  U.  259 

xt'ithout  which  there  can  he  no  generosity  ;    and    which, 
rtever  dissipating   for   the   sake   of  giving  continually,    is 
always   giving  with  propriety.      His   heart  was  formed  for 
friendshij),  and  for  that  reason   he  was  not  careless  in   be- 
stowing it;   but  when  once  it  was  obtained,   it  was  settled 
for  ever.      It"  he  had  any  defect,   it  was  perhaps  too  much 
indulgence  for  the  faults  and   weaknesi-es  of  mankinti  ;  a 
defect,   which  by  its  scarceness  is  almost  a  virtue,  and  of 
which   few  persons  have  to   reproach  themselves,   even  in 
regard  to  their  friends.      He  possessed   in   the  highest  de- 
gree that  knowledge  of  the  worUl  and  of  man,   which  nei- 
ther books  nor  genius  ever  gave   the   philosopher,   while 
neglecting  the  commerce  of  liis  fellow  creatures.     Enjoy- 
ing the  esteem  and  the  confidence  of  all  the  great  men  in 
the  kingdom,   no  one  had  better  advice  to  give  in  the  most 
important  affairs.      He  kept  inviolably  the  secrets  of  others 
as  well  as  his  own.     Yet  his  generous,  delicate,  and  honest 
soul  disdained  dissimulation,  and  his  prudence  was  too  en- 
lightened to  be  mistaken  for  artifice.      Easy  and  affable  in 
company,   but  preferring  truth  in  all  things,  he  never  dis- 
puted except  in  its  defence  :  accordingly  the  lively  inte- 
rest he  shewed  for  truth  on  all  such  occasions  gave  him  in 
the  eyes  of  the  generality  an  air  of  obstinacy,  which  truth 
is  much  less  likely  to  find  among  mankind  than  a  cold  and 
criminal  indifference." 

He  wrote  above  an  hundred  treatises  on  different  sub- 
jects of  history,  grammar,  geography,  &c.  the  greater  part 
of  which  remained  in  manuscript,  and  of  those  which  were 
published,   many  soon   became  very  scarce,  as  it  was  his 
custom  to   print  only  a  few  copies  for  distribution  among 
his   friends.      1.   "  Quatre  Dialogues,"  on   the   immortality 
of  the  soul,  the  existence  of  God,  Sec.  Paris,  1684,  12mo, 
with  a  vignette  of  Sebastian   le  Cierc  to  each  dialogue. 
This  was  animadverted  upon  by  the  celebrated  Jurieu  in 
"  Apologie  d'un  tour  nouveau  pour  les  Quatre  Dialogues, 
&c."  Cologne  (the    Hague),    1685.     2.   "  Cartes  Geogra- 
phiques.    Tables  Chronologiques,    Tables  Genealogiques, 
&c."  1693,    12mo.     3.   "  Lettre  sur   I'ortographe  aM.de 
Poutchartrain,"    1693,   I2mo.     4.  "Reflexions  sur  toutes 
les  parties  de   la  Grammaire,"  1694,   12mo.     In   this  and 
the  preceding,  he  attempts  some  new  modes  of  spelling, 
which  have  never  been  adopted.     5.  "  Nouvelle  methods 
de  Geographic  histonque,    &c."    1697,    folio.      6.   "  Les 
principes  du  Blason  en  quatorze  planches,"  Paris,  1709, 

S   3 


260  D  A  N  G  E  A  U. 


11 


folio,  reprinted  in  1715,  4to.  7.  "  Essais  de  Grammaire, 
1711,  8vo.  8.  "  Reflexions  sur  la  Grammaire  Frangoise,'* 
1717,  Svo,  with  some  other  treatises  on  the  same  subjects : 
he  also  invented  a  historical  game  of  the  kings  of  France, 
somewhat  like  what  have  lately  been  introduced  in  our 
schools.  The  best  of  the  above  treatises  were  reprinted 
by  the  abbe  Olivet  in  1734,  under  the  title  of  "  Opuscules 
sur  la  langue  Fran9aise."  * 

DANGEAU  (Philip   de  Courcillon,    Marquis  de), 
brother  of  the  preceding,  was  born  in  1638.     The  endow- 
ments of  his  mind  and  person  advanced  him  at  the  court  of 
Louis  XIV.  and  his  decided   taste   for  literature  obtained 
him  a  place  in  the  French  academy,  and  in  that  of  sciences. 
He  died  at  Paris  in  1720,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  privy- 
councillor,  knight  of  several  orders,  grand-master  of  the 
royal  and  military  order  of  Notre  Dame  du  Mont  Carmel, 
and  of  St.  Lazare  de  Jerusalem.     On  being  invested  with 
this  last  dignity,  he  paid  greater  attention   than  had  been 
before  shewn  to  the  choice  of  the   chevaliers,  and  revived 
the  ancient  pomp  at  their  reception,  which  the  wits  endea- 
voured to  turn  into  ridicule.     But  what  was  superior  to 
all  ridicule  was,  that  by  his  care  he  procured  the  foun- 
dation of  upwards  of  twenty-five  commanderies,  and  em- 
ployed the  revenues  of  the  office  of  grand-master,   to  the 
education  of  twelve  young  gentlemen  of  the  best  nobility 
of  the  kingdom,  as  has  been  mentioned  in  our  account  of 
Lis  brother.     At  the  court  (says  Fontenelle),  where  there 
is  but  little  faith  in  probity  and  virtue,  he  always  preserved 
his   reputation   clear   and  entire.     His    conversation,    his 
manners,  all  savoured  of  a  politeness  which  was  far  less 
that  of  a  man  of  fashion,  than  of  a  friendly  and  obliging 
person.    His  wish  at  all  times  to  play  the  part  of  a  grandee, 
might  have  been  passed  over,  on  account  of  the  worthiness 
of  his  character.     Madame  de  Montespan,  who  thought 
him  not  qualified  exactly  for  that,  said  rather  tartly,  that 
it  Wcis  impossible  not  to  love  him,  and  not  to  laugh  at  him. 
His  first  wife  was  Frances  Morin,  sister  to  the  marechal 
d'Estrees,  and  his  second  the  countess  de  Louvestein,  of 
the  palatine  house.     There  are  extant  by  the  marquis   de 
Dangeau,  memoirs  in  manuscript,  from  whence  Voltaire, 
Henault,  and  la  Beaumelle,  have  taken  many  curious  anec- 
dotes ',  but  it  was  not  always  Dangeau,  says  Voltaire,  who 

*  Moreri  in  Courcillou, — Niceron. — Eloges  by  D'Alembert. 


D  A  N  G  E  A  U.  261 

made  these  memoirs  :  "  It  was  (according  to  this  satirist) 
an  old  stupid  valet-de-chambre,  who  thought  proper  to 
make  manuscript  gazettes  of  all  the  nonsense,  right  or 
wrong,  that  he  could  pick  up  in  the  anti-chambers,"  by 
which  Vohaire  woukl  insinuate  that  the  memoirs  which 
bear  the  name  of  the  marquis  de  Dangeau  are  to  be  read 
with  caution.  There  is  another  Httle  work  of  his,  also  in 
manuscript,  in  which  he  gives  the  picture  of  Louis  XIV. 
in  a  very  interesting  mannfer,  such  as  he  was  among  his 
courtiers. ' 

DANICAN.     See  PHILIDOR. 

DANIEL  (Arnaud),  so  in  Moreri,  but  in  other  French 
biographical  works  placed  under  Arnaud,  one  of  the  trou- 
badours of  the  twelfth  century,  was  born  of  noble  parents, 
in  the  castle  of  Ribeyrac,  in  Pevigord.  If  we  may  judge 
of  his  merit  by  his  works  which  have  descended  to  us,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  give  him  the  preference  to  his  bre- 
thren in  that  century,  yet  the  old  Italian  critics  assign  him 
the  first  place.  Dante  in  particular  speaks  of  him  as  the 
best  writer  of  tender  verses  in  the  Proven^-al  language,  and 
seems  equally  partial  to  the  prose  part  of  his  romances  ; 
Petrarch  also,  who  places  him  at  the  head  of  the  Provencal 
poets,  calls  him  the  great  master  of  love,  and  has  honoured 
him  so  far  as  to  conclude  one  of  his  own  stanzas  with  a 
verse  from  Arnaud.  It  has,  however,  been  doubted  whe- 
ther this  verse  be  the  production  of  Arnaud,  and  Crescim- 
beni  has  employed  a  long  digression  in  discussing  the  ques- 
tion. The  best,  however,  of  Arnaud's  productions  must 
have  been  lost,  for  what  remain  by  no  means  support  the 
character  which  Dante  and  Petrarch  have  given  of  him. 
He  has  the  credit  of  inventing  that  species  of  composition 
called  the  sestine,  and  attached  great  importance  to  rhyrpe. 
Besides  his  poetical  talents,  he  had  musical  skill,  and  com- 
posed some  of  his  own  songs.  MilloL  speaks  of  having 
seen  seventeen  pieces  by  Arnaud,  and  there  are  eight  in 
the  imperial  library  at  Paris,  with  a  life  of  him.  One  of 
his  works  is  entitled  '*  Fantaumasias  del  Paganisme."  He 
is  supposed  to  have  died  about  llSy.** 

DANIEL  (Gabriel),  a  very  ingenious  and  learned 
Frenchman,  was  born  at  Roan,  Feb.  8,  1649;  and  in  Sept. 
1667,  entered  as  a  novitiate  into  the  society  of  the  Jesuits, 

'  Moreri  in  Courcillon. 

^  Moreri  in  Daniel,— Biog.  Universelle,  and  Diet,  Hist,  iu  Arnaud. 


?63  DANIEL. 

He  read  lectures  upon  polite  literature,  upon  philosophy, 
and  theology,  at  several  places  in  the  early  part  of  his  life 
by  the  desire  of  his  superiors,  after  which  he  appears  to 
have  devoted  his  time  to  his  historical  and  controversial 
works.  One  of  his  earliest  productions  was  his  *'  Voyage 
to  the  world  of  Descartes,"  a  satirical  confutation  of  the 
Cartesian  philosophy,  under  the  appearance  of  a  romance, 
which  was  so  well  received,  that  it  was  soon  translated  into 
several  languages  ;  into  English,  into  Italian,  &c.  It  has 
underQ:one  several  editions,  which  have  been  revised  and 
enlarged  by  the  author  ;  and  to  that  printed  in  1703  there 
were  added,  by  way  of  supplement,  two  or  three  pieces, 
which  have  a  connection  with  the  subject.  They  are  en- 
titled, "  New  diflficulties  proposed  to  the  author  of  the 
Voyage,"  &c.  concerning  the  consciousness  or  perception 
of  brutes  :  with  a  refutation  of  two  defences  of  Descartes' ai 
general  system  of  the  world. 

But  the  work  which  will  longest  perpetuate  the  name  of. 
father  Daniel,  is,  "  The  History  of  France,"  published  at 
Paris,  1713,  in  3  vols.  fol.  a  second  edition  of  which  he 
brought  out  at  Paris,  1722,  in  7  vols.  4to,  revised,  cor- 
rected, augmented,  and  enriched  with  several  authentic 
medals  ;  and  a  very  pompous  edition  of  it  was  afterwards 
published,  with  a  continuation,  but  in  the  way  of  annals 
only,  from  the  death  of  Henry  IV.  in  1610,  where  father 
Daniel  stopped,  to  the  end  of  Lewis  XIV.  He  was  the 
author  of  some  other  works  ;  of  an  answer  to  the  Provincial 
Letters,  entitled  1.  Dialogues  between  Cleander  and  Eu- 
doxus.  This  book  in  less  than  two  years  ran  through 
twelve  editions  ;  it  was  translated  into  Latin  by  father  Ju- 
venci ;  and  afterwards  into  Italian,  English,  and  Spanish, 
but  it  is  a  weak  attack,  after  ail,  on  Pascal.  2.  Two 
letters  of  M.  Abbot  to  Eudoxus,  by  way  of  remarks  upon 
the  new  apology  for  the  Provincial  Letters.  3.  Ten  letters 
to  father  Alexander,  in  which  he  draws  a  parallel  between 
the  doctrine  of  the  Thomists  and  the  Jesuits,  upon  the 
subjects  of  probability  and  grace.  4.  The  system  of  Lewis 
de  Leon  concerning  the  sacrament.  5.  A  defence  of  St. 
Augustin  against  a  book  supposed  to  be  written  by  Launoi. 
6.  Four  letters  upon  the  argument  of  the  book  entitled  A 
defence  of  St.  Augustin.  7.  A  theological  tract,  touching 
the  efficacy  of  grace,  in  two  volumes.  In  the  second  vo- 
lume, he  answers  Serry's  book,  entitled  "  Schola  Thoniis^ 
tica  vindicata,"  a  remonstrance  to  the  lord  archbishop  of 


DANIEL.  263 

Hheims,  occasioned  by  his  order  published  July  15,  1697. 
This  performance  of  father  Daniel's  was  often  primed,  and 
also  translated  by  Juvenci  into  Latin.  He  piihlished  other 
smaller  works,  which  were  all  collected  and  printed  in 
3  vols.  4to. 

Father  Daniel  was  superior  of  the  Jesuits  at  Paris,  and 
died  there  June  23,  1728.  By  his  death,  that  society 
lost  one  of  the  greatest  ornaments  they  ever  had.  His 
*'  History,"  to  which  Voltaire  and  some  modern  French 
critics  have  objected,  and  his  "  Histoire  de  la  Milice  Fran- 
^oise,"  2  vols.  4to,  although  equally  liable  to  censure  on 
account  of  its  prolixity,  are  works  which  gave  him  a  very 
hiffh  rank  amouij  French  historians.  The  best  edition  of 
his  hi.story  is  that  of  1757,  17  vols.  4to.  * 

DANIEL  (Peteu),  a  scholar  and  antiquary  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  was  an  advocate  at  Orleans,  where  he 
mostly  resided,  and  assessor  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Benoit- 
sur- Loire,  which  he  was  frequently  obliged  to  visit,  in  the 
discharge  of  his  office.  His  laste  for  polite  literature,  and 
general  reputation  for  such  learning  as  was  not  very  com- 
mon in  his  time,  recommended  him  to  the  esteem  of  the 
cardinal  de  Chatillon,  a  liberal  Maecenas  of  that  age.  The 
abbey  of  St.  Benoit  having  been  pillaged  during  the  war 
in  1562,  Daniel  with  great  difficulty  saved  some  manu- 
scripts, and  purchased  others  from  the  soldiers,  and  re- 
moved them  to  Orleans.  Among  these  was  the  Commen- 
tary of  Servius  on  Virgil,  which  he  published  in  1600; 
and  the  "  Aulularia"  of  Plautus,  which  he  liad  printed  im- 
mediately after  rescuing  these  MSS.  in  1564.  He  pre- 
pared also  an  edition  of  Petronius,  but  it  was  not  published 
until  1629,  after  his  death.  This  event  took  place  at 
Paris,  in  1603,  when  his  friends  Paul  Petau,  and  James 
Bongars,  purchased  his  library  for  1500  livrcs,  and  di- 
vided the  MSS.  between  them.  Among  other  eminent  men, 
Daniel  was  particularly  intimate  with  Buchanan,  and  has 
been  highly  praised  by  Scioppius,  Scaliger,  and  Turnebus." 
DANIEL  (Samuel),  an  English  poet  and  historian,  the 
son  of  a  music-master,  was  born  near  Taunton,  in  Somer- 
setshire, in  1562.  In  1579  he  was  admitted  a  conunoner 
of  Magdalen-hall,  Oxford,  where  he  continued  about  three 
years,  and  by  the  help  of  an  excellent  tutor,  made  con- 

>  Moreri. — Diet.  Hist. 

i*  Moreri. — Irving's  ^lemoirs  of  Buchanan. — Baillet  JugenaeiM. 


264.  DANIEL. 

siderable  improvement  in  academical  studies.  He  left  th« 
iiniversity,  however,  witliout  taking  a  degree,  and  pursued 
the  study  of  history  and  poetry  under  the  patronage  of  the 
earl  of  Pembroke's  family.  This  he  thankfully  acknow- 
ledges in  his  "  Defence  of  Rhime,"  which  is  printed  in 
the  late  edition  of  his  works,  as  a  necessary  document  to 
illustrate  the  ideas  of  poetry  entertained  in  his  time.  To 
the  same  family  he  was  probably  indebted  for  an  university 
education,  as  no  notice  occurs  of  his  father,  who,  if  a 
music-master,  could  not  well  have  escaped  the  researches 
of  Dr.  Barney.  The  first  of  his  productions,  at  the  age 
of  twenty- three,  was  a  translation  of  Paulus  Jovius's  "  Dis- 
course of  Rare  Inventions,  both  military  and  amorous, 
called  Imprese,"  London,  1585,  8vo,  to  which  he  pre- 
fixed an  ingenious  preface.  He  afterwards  became  tutor 
to  the  lady  Anne  Clifford,  sole  daughter  and  heiress  to 
George,  earl  of  Cumberland,  a  lady  of  very  high  accom- 
plishments, spirit,  and  intrepidity.  To  her,  when  at  the 
age  of  thirteen,  he  addressed  a  delicate  admonitory  epistle. 
She  was  married,  first  to  Richard,  earl  of  Dorset,  and  af- 
terwards to  the  earl  of  Pembroke,  "  that  memorable  sim- 
pleton," says  lord  Orford,  "  with  whom  Butler  has  so 
much  diverted  himself"  The  pillar  which  she  erected  im 
the  county  of  Westmoreland,  on  the  road-side  between 
Penrith  and  Appleby,  the  spot  where  she  took  her  last 
leave  of  her  mother, 

still  records,  beyond  a  pencil's  power. 


The  silent  sorrows  of  a  parting  hour ; 
Still  to  the  musing  pilgrim  points  the  place 
Her  sainted  spirit  most  delights  to  trace." 

Among  her  other  munificent  acts,  was  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  our  poet,  on  which  she  caused  it  to  be  en- 
graven that  she  had  been  his  pupil ;  a  circumstance  which 
she  seems  to  have  remembered  with  delight,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  more  than  half  a  century  after  his  decease. 

At  the  death  of  Spenser,  Daniel,  according  to  Anthony 
Wood,  was  appointed  poet-laureat  to  queen  Elizabeth  ; 
but  Mr.  Malone,  whose  researches  lead  to  more  decisive 
accuracy,  considers  him  only  as  a  volunteer  laureat,  like 
Jonson,  Dckker,  and  others  who  furnished  the  court  with 
masks  and  pageants.  In  king  James's  reign  he  was  made 
gentleman  extraordinary,  and  afterwards  one  of  the  grooms 
of  the  privy-chamber  to  the  queen  consort,  who  took  great 
delight  in  his  conversation  and  writings.     Some  of  his  bio- 


DANIEL.  265 

graphers  attribute  this  promotion  to  the  interest  of  his 
brother-in-law,  liorio,  the  Itahan  lexicographer,  but  it  is 
perhaps  more  probable  that  he  owed  it  to  the  Pembroke 
family.  Mrs.  Cooper,  in  her  Muses'  Library,  observes, 
that  in  the  introduction  to  his  poem  on  the  civil  wars,  he 
acknowledges  the  friendship  of  one  of  the  noble  family  of 
Mountjoy  ;  and  this,  adds  our  female  critic,  is  the  more 
grateful  and  sincere,  as  it  was  published  after  the  death  of 
his  benefactor.  He  now  rented  a  small  house  and  garden 
in  Old-street,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Luke's,  London,  where 
he  conijiosed  most  of  his  dramatic  ])ieces,  and  enjoyed  the 
friendship  of  Shakspeare,  Marlowe,  and  Chapman,  as  well 
as  of  many  persons  of  rank  ;  but  he  appears  to  have  been 
dissatisfied  with  the  opinions  entertained  of  his  poetical 
talents  ;  and  towards  the  end  of  his  life  retired  to  a  farm, 
which  he  had  at  Beckington,  near  Philips-Norton,  in  So- 
mersetshire, and  where,  after  some  time  devoted  to  study 
and  contemplation,  he  died,  and  was  buried  Oct.  14,  1619. 
He  had  been  married  to  his  wife  Justina,  several  years,  but 
left  no  issue. 

Of  Daniel's  personal  history  we  know  little,  but  the  in- 
ferences to  be  drawn  from  his  works  are  highly  favourable. 
He  is  much  praised  by  his  contemporaries,  although  chiefly 
with  a  view  to  his  genius.  Edmund  Bolton,  in  a  criticism 
on  the  style  of  our  poets  before  1600,  says,  *'  The  works 
of  Samuel  Daniel  containe  somewhat  aflat,  but  yet  withal 
a  very  pure  and  copious  English,  and  words  as  warrantable 
as  any  man's,  and  fitter  perhaps  for  prose  than  measure;'* 
and  Gabriel  Harvey,  in  his  "  Foure  Letters  and  Certaine 
Sonnets,"  cordially  recommends  him,  with  others,  for  his 
studious  endeavours  to  enrich  and  polish  his  native  tongue. 

Fuller's  account,  who  lived  near  enough  to  the  time  of 
his  death  to  have  known  something  of  his  character,  is 
worth  transcribing: 

"  He  was  born  not  far  from  Taunton,  in  this  county 
(Somersetshire),  whose  father  was  a  master  of  musick  ;  and 
his  harmonious  mind  made  an  impression  on  his  son's  ge- 
nius, who  proved  an  exquisite  poet.  He  car'ied  in  his 
Christian  and  surname,  two  holy  prophets,  his  monitors  so 
to  qualify  his  raptures,  that  he  abhorred  all  prophaneness. 
He  was  also  a  judicious  historian,  witness  his  Lives  of  our 
English  kings  since  the  conquest,  until  king  Edward  IlL 
wherein  he  hath  the  happiness  to  reconcile  brevity  with 
clearness,  qualities  of  great  distance  in  other  authors.  He 
was  a  servant  in  ordinary  to  queen  Aune,  who  allowed  him 


S66  DANIEL. 

a  fair  salary.  Arthe  tortoise  burieth  himself  all  the  winter 
under  the  ground,  so  Mr.  Daniel  would  lye  hid  at  his 
garden-house  in  Old-street,  nigh  London,  for  some  months 
together  (the  more  retiredly  to  enjoy  the  company  of  the 
muses)  and  then  would  appear  in  publick,  to  converse  with 
his  friends,  whereof  Dr.  Cowel  and  Mr.  Camden  were 
principal.  Some  tax  him  to  smack  of  the  old  cask,  as  re- 
senting of  the  Romish  religion,  but  they  have  a  quicker 
palate  than  I,  who  can  make  any  such  discovery.  Li  his 
old  age  he  turned  husbandman,  and  rented  a  farm  in  ^V'ilt- 
shire,  nigh  the  Devizes.  I  can  give  no  account  how  he 
thrived  thereupon.  For  though  he  was  well  versed  in 
Virgil,  his  fellow-husbandman-poet,  yet  there  is  more  re- 
quired to  make  a  rich  farmer,  than  only  to  say  his  Georgics 
by  heart;  and  I  question  whether  his  Italian  will  fit  our 
English  husbandry.  Besides,  I  suspect  that  Mr.  Daniel 
his  fancy  was  too  fine  and  sublimated  to  be  wrought  down 
to  his  private  profit." 

His  works  consist  of:  1.  ''  The  Complaint  of  Rosa- 
mond," Lond.  1594,  1598,  1611,  and  1623,  4to.  2.  Va- 
rious "  Sonnets"  to  Delia,  'i.  "  Tragedy  of  Cleopatra," 
Lond.  1594,  1598,  4to.  4.  *«  Of  the  Civil  Wars  between 
the  houses  of  Lancaster  and  York,"  Lond.  1604,  1609, 
8vo,  and  1623,  4to.  5.  "  The  Vision  of  the  Twelve  God- 
desses, presented  in  a  Mask,"  &c.  London,  1604,  Svo, 
and  1623,  4to.  6.  "  Panegyric  congratulatory,"  delivered 
to  king  James  at  Burleigh  Harrington,  in  Rutlandshire, 
Lond.  1604  and  1623,  4to.  7.  "  Epistles"  to  various 
great  personages,  in  verse,  Lond.  1601  and  1623,  4to.  8. 
"  Musophilus,  containing  a  general  Defence  of  Learning," 
prmted  with  the  former.  9.  "  Tragedy  of  "  Philotas," 
Lond.  1611,  &c.  Svo.  10.  "  Hymen's  Triumph  ;  a  pastoral 
tragi-comedy,"  at  the  nuptials  of  lord  Roxborough,  Lond. 
1623,  4to,  2d  edit.  11."  Musa,"  or  a  Defence  of  Rhyme, 
Lond.  1611,  Svo.  12.  The  "  Epistle  of  Octavia  to  M.  Anto- 
nius,"  Lond.  1611,  Svo.  1 3.  The  first  part  of  the  "  History 
of  England,"  in  three  books,  Lond.  1613,  4to,  reaching  to 
the  end  of  king  Stephen,  in  prose ;  to  which  he  afterwards 
added  a  second  part,  reaching  to  the  end  of  king  Edward 
III.. Lond.  1618,  1621,  1623,  and  1634,  folio,  continued  to 
the  end  of  king  Richard  HL  by  John  Trussel,  some  time  a 
Winchester  scholar,  afterwards  a  trader  and  alderman  of 
that  city.  14.  "  The  Queen's  Arcadia,"  a  pastoral  tragi- 
comedy, 1605,  1623,  Lond.  4to.  i5.  "  Funeral  poem 
on  the  Death  of  the  earl  of  Devon,"  Lond.  1623,  4to.     In 


DANIEL.  267 

the  same  year  his  poetical  works  were  published  in  4to,  by 
his  bioilier  John  Daniel. 

The  editor  of  PhiUips's  Theatrnm  (1800)  to  whom  we 
are  indebted  for  the  above  hst,  adds,  tiiat  "  the  character 
of  Daniel's  genius  seems  to  be  propriety,  rather  than  ele- 
vation. His  language  is  generally  pure  and  harmonious  ; 
and  his  reflections  are  just.  But  his  thoughts  are  too  ab- 
stract, and  aj)peal  rather  to  tlie  understanding  than  to  the 
imagination  or  the  heart;  and  he  wanted  the  fire  necessary 
for  the  loftier  flights  of  poetry." 

Mr.  Headly,  who  appears  to  have  studied  his  works  with 
much  attention,  thus   appreciates  his  merit :     "  Though 
very  rarely  sublime,  he  has  skill  in    the   pathetic  ;  and  his 
pages  are    disgraced   with    neither  pedantry  nor    conceit. 
We  find,   both  in  his  poetry  and  prose,  such  a  legitimate 
and  rational  flow  of  language  as  approaches  nearer  tiie  style 
of  the   18th  than  the  16th  century,  and  of  which  we  may 
safely  assert,  tliat  it  never  will  become  obsolete.     He  cer- 
tainly was  the  Atticus  of  his  day.     It  seems  to  have  been 
his  error  to  have  entertained  too  great  a  diffidence  of  his  own 
abilities.     Constantly  contented  with  the  sedate  propriety  of 
good  sense,  which  he  no  sooner  attains  than  he  seems  to 
rest  satisfied,  though  his  resources,  had  he  but  made  the  ef- 
fort, would  have  carried  him  much  farther.    In  thus  escaping 
censure,  he  is  not  always  entitled  to  praise.      From  not 
endeavouring  to  be  great,  he  sometimes  misses  of  being  re- 
spectable.    The  constitution   of  his  mind  seems  often  to 
have  failed  him  in  the  sultry  and  exhausting  regions  of  the 
muses ;  for  though  generally  neat,  easy,  and  perspicuous, 
he  too  frequently  grows  slack,    languid,    and  enervated. 
In  perusing  his  long  historical  poem,  we  grow  sleepy  at 
the  dead  ebb  of  his  narrative,   notwithstanding  being  occa- 
sionally relieved  with  some  touches  of  the  pathetic.     Un- 
fortunate in  the  choice  of  his  subject,  he  seems  fearful  of 
supplying  its  defects  by  digressional  embellishment ;  in- 
stead of  fixing  upon  one  of  a  more  fanciful  cast,  which  the 
natural  coolness  of  his  judgment  would  necessarily  have 
corrected,  he  has  cooped  himself  up  within  the  limited 
and  naiTovv  pale  of  dry  events  ;  instead  of  casting  his  eye 
on   the  general   history  of  human    nature,  and   giving  his 
genius  a  range  over  her  immeasurable  fields,  he  has  con- 
fined himself  to  an  abstract  diary  of  fortune;  instead  of 
presenting  us  with  pictures  of  truth  from  the  effects  of  the 
passions,  he  has  versified  the  truth  of  action  only  j  he  has 


2G8  DANIEL. 

sufficiently,  therefore,  shown  the  historian,  but  by  no 
means  the  poet.  For,  to  use  a  sentiment  of  sir  William 
Davenant's,  '  Truth  narrative  and  past  is  the  idol  of  his- 
torians, (who  worship  a  dead  thing)  ;  and  truth  operative, 
and  by  its  effects  continually  alive,  is  the  mistress  of  poets, 
who  hath  not  her  existence  in  matter,  but  in  reason.' 
Daniel  has  often  the  softness  of  Rowe  without  his  effemi- 
nacy. In  his  Complaint  of  Cleopatra,  he  has  caught 
Ovid's  manner  very  happily,  as  he  has  no  obscurities 
either  of  style  or  language,  neither  pedantry  nor  affecta- 
tion, all  of  which  have  concurred  in  banishing  from  use 
the  works  of  his  contemporaries.  The  oblivion  he  has  met 
with  is  peculiarly  undeserved;  he  has  shared  their  fate, 
though  innocent  of  their  faults." 

The  justice  of  these  remarks  cannot  be  disproved,  al- 
thouorh  some  of  them  are  rather  too  liorurative  for  sober 
criticism,  Daniel's  fatal  error  was  in  chusing  history  in- 
stead of  fiction  ;  yet  in  his  lesser  pieces,  and  particularly 
in  his  sonnets,  are  many  striking  poetical  beauties ;  and 
his  language  is  every  where  so  much  more  harmonious  than 
that  of  his  contemporaries,  that  he  deserves  a  place  in 
every  collection  of  English  poetry,  as  one  vvho  had  the 
taste  or  genius  to  anticipate  the  improvements  of  a  more 
refined  age.  As  a  dramatic  writer,  he  has  been  praised 
for  his  adherence  to  the  models  of  antiquit}^,  but  whoever 
attempts  this,  attempts  what  has  ever  been  found  repugnant 
to  the  constitution  of  the  English  Theatre.' 

DANKERS.     See  DANCKERTS. 

DANTE  (Alighieri),  an  illustrious  Italian  poet,  de- 
scended from  one  of  the  first  families  of  Florence,  of  the 
name  of  Caccia  Guida.  Alighieri  was  the  surname  of  the 
maternal  line,  natives  of  Ferrara,  so  called  from  a  golden 
wing  which  the  family  bore  on  their  arms.  He  was  born 
in  1265,  a  little  after  the  return  of  the  Guelfs  or  pope's 
faction,  who  had  been  exiled  fiom  their  native  country  in 
consequence  of  the  defeat  at  Monte  Aperte.  The  superi- 
ority of  his  genius  appeared  early,  and  if  we  may  credit 
his  biographer  Boccaccio,  his  amorous  disposition  appeared 
almost  as  soon.  His  passion  for  the  lady  whom  he  has  ce- 
lebrated in  his  poem  b}'^  the  name  of  Beatrice,  is  said  to 
have  commenced  at  nine  years  of  age-  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Foleo  Portinari,  a  noble  citizen  of  Florence. 

>  Biog.  Erit. — Johnson  and  Chalmers's  English  Poets,  1810. 


DANTE.  269 

His  passion  seems  to  have  been  of  the  platonic  kind,  ac- 
coaUng  to  the  account  he  gives  of  it  in  his  "  Vita  Nuova," 
one  of  his  earhest  productions.     The  lady  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-six  ;  and  Dante,   affected  by  the  afflicting  event, 
fell  into  a  profound  melancholy,  to  cure  which  his  friends 
recommended  matrimony.     Dante   took  their  advice,   but 
was  unfortunate  in  choosing  a  lady  of  a  termagant  temper, 
from  whom  he  found  it  necessary  to  separate,  but  not  until 
they  had  lived  miserably  for  a  considerable  time,   during 
which  she  bore  him  several  children.      Either  at  this  period, 
or  after  the  death  of  his  first  mistress,  he  seems  by  his  own 
account  to  have  fallen  into  a  profligate  course  of  life,  from 
which  he  was  rescued  by  the  prayers  of  his  mistress,   now 
a  saint,  who  prevailed  on  the  spirit  of  Virgil  to  attend  hirti 
through  the  infernal  regions.     It  is  not  easy  to  reduce  this 
account  to  matter  of  fact,  nor  is  it  very  clear  indeed  whe- 
ther his  reigning  vice  was  profligacy,  or  ambition  of  worldly 
honours.     It  is  certain,    however,    that  he  possessed  this 
ambition,  and  had  reason  to  repent  of  it. 

He  had  already  conceived  notions  of  military  glor\-,   and 
had  distinguished  himself  by  his  bravery  in  an  action  where 
the  Florentines  obtained  a  signal  victory  at  Arezzo.     This, 
joined  with  his  acknowledged  learning,  prepared  the  way 
for  his  advancement  to  the  first  honours  of  the  state.      Italy, 
at  that  time,  was  distracted  between  the  factions  of  the 
Guelfs,  or  partizans  of  the  pope,    and  the  Ghibellines, 
who  adhered  to  the  emperor.     After  many  revolutions,  the 
Guelfs  had  got  the  superiority  in  Florence;  and  in   1300 
Dante,  with  several  colleagues,  was  elected  prior,  the  first 
executive  office  in  the  republic  of  Florence,  and  from  this 
he  is  said  to  have  dated  all  his  misfortunes.     Although  the 
faction  of  the  Ghibellines  seemed  totally  extinct,  an  unin- 
terrupted flow  of  ten  years  prosperity  was  attended  with 
consequences  more   fatal  to  the  Guelfs  than  all  their  past 
misfortunes.     The  two  noble  families  of  the  Cherchi  and 
Donati  had    been   engaged  in  a  quarrel  of  old  standing, 
and  now  had  recourse  to  arms,  in  consequence  of  a  dispute 
between  two  branches  of  the  family  of  Cancelieri,  of  Pis- 
toia.     The  rival  factions  had  distinguished  themselves  by 
the  names  of  the  blacks  and  the  whites,  i.  e.  the  Neri  and 
the  Bianchi.     Donati,  from  an  old  attachment  to  the  part  of 
the  Cancelieri,  called  the  blacks,  joined  their  faction,  which 
immediately  determ-aed  the  Cherchi  to  join  the  whites  ; 
and  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  quarrel,  Dante  and  his 


270  DANTE. 

colleagues,  ordered  the  heads  of  the  opposite  factions  td 
remove  from  Pistoia  to  Florence,  the  consequence  of  which 
was,  that  all  the  noble  families  of  Florence  ranged  them- 
selves with  the  one  or  the  other,  and  even  the  lower  order 
of  the  citizens  became  partizans.  At  last,  at  a  secret 
meeting  of  the  blacks,  Carso  Douati  proposed  to  apply  to 
pope  Boniface  VIII.  to  terminate  these  intestine  broils,  by 
sending  Charles  of  Valois  of  the  blood  royal  of  France. 
The  whites,  having  learned  this,  assembled  in  arms,  and 
clamoured  loudly  against  the  project,  and  Dante  was  so 
dissatisfied  with  it,  that  from  that  moment  it  is  probable 
he  took  a  decided  part  against  the  black  faction. 

To  preserve,  however,  the  appearance  of  impartiality, 
he  and  his  colleagues,  gaining  the  multitude  on  their  side, 
ordered  the  leaders  of  both  parties,  Donati  and  Cherchi, 
into  confinement ;   but  Dante's   real  sentiments   soon    ap- 
peared :  the  whites  were  set  at  liberty,  and  the  blacks  re- 
mained in  bonds  or  in  exile,  and  although  Dante's  priorate 
had  expired  before  the  whites  were  released,  the  measure 
was  attributed  to  his  influence.     This  appearance  of  par- 
tiality  gave   the   wished   for  pretext  to  Boniface  to   send 
Charles  of  Valois  to  Florence,  who,  after  producing  a  letter 
pretended  to  be  written  by  some  of  the  leaders  of  the 
whites,    offering   to  corrupt  his  integrity  in  their  favour, 
recalled  the«exiles  of  the  black  faction,  and  banished  their 
opponents.     Dante  was  at  this  time  at  Rome  soliciting  the 
pope  to  conciliate  the  two  parties,  and  finding  his  solicita- 
tions in  vain,  returned,  and  found  the   sentence  of  exile 
passed  upon  him,  his  possessions  confiscated,  and  his  house 
razed  to  the  foundation.      This  news  met   him   at   Siena, 
where  he  was  soon  joined  by  a  numerous  body  of  exiles, 
who  formed  themselves  into  an   army,  and   after  making- 
some  unsuccessful   efforts  to    enter    their   native   city   by 
force,  which  they  repeated  for  four  years,  were  obliged  to 
disperse. 

Dante  first  found  a  patron  in  the  great  Cane  de  la  Scala, 
prince  of  Verona,  whom  he  has  celebrated  in  the  first 
canto  of  the  Inferno  ;  but  his  high  spirit  was  ill-suited  to 
courtly  dependance ;  and  it  is  very  probable  he  lost  the 
favour  of  the  prince  by  the  frankness  of  his  behaviour.  Of 
this  an  instance  is  given  in  several  autliors.  The  dispo- 
sition of  the  poet,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  had  ac- 
quired a  strong  tincture  of  melancholy,  which  made  him 
less  acceptable  in  the  gay  court  of  Verona,  where  probably 


D  A  N  T  R  271 

a  poet  was  only  thouglit  a  character  fit  to  find  frivolous 
amusements  for  his  patron.  A  common  jester,  or  buffoon 
(a  noted  })ersonage  in  those  days),  eclipsed  the  character 
of  the  bard,  and  neither  the  variety  of  his  learning,  nor 
the  sublimity  of  his  genius,  stood  him  in  any  stead.  Cane, 
the  prince,  perceived  that  he  was  hurt  by  it ;  and,  instead 
of  altering  his  mode  of  treatment,  very  ungenerously  ex- 
asperated his  resentment,  by  observing  one  day  in  public 
company,  that  it  was  very  extraordinary,  that  the  jester, 
whom  ever  one  knew  to  be  a  worthless  fellow,  should  be 
so  much  auiiiired  by  him,  and  all  his  court ;  while  Dante, 
a  man  unparalleled  in  learning,  genius,  and  integrity,  was 
universally  neglected.  "  You  will  cease  to  wonder  (says 
Dante),  when  you  consider  that  similarity  of  manners  is 
the  strongest  bond  of  attachment."  It  does  not  ajjpear 
whether  the  prince  resented  this  answer,  which  he  surely 
must  have  felt  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  prince  endea- 
voured to  make  the  poet  an  occasional  object  of  merriment 
in  some  very  low  instances,  and  Dante  condescended  to 
meet  him  even  in  that  humble  species  of  wit.  Dante, 
however,  soon  found  it  necessary  to  seek  his  fortune  else- 
where, and  from  Verona  he  retired  to  France,  according 
to  Manetti ;  and  Boccaccio  affirms  that  he  disputed  in  the 
theological  schools  of  Paris  with  great  reputation,  which 
Boccaccio  had  a  much  better  o])|)ortU!iity  of  knowing  than 
Bayle,  who  takes  upon  him  to  question  the  fact. 

Dante's  first  prospect  of  better  fortune  opened  in  1308, 
when  Henry,  count  of  Luxemburgh  was  raised  to  the  em- 
pire. In  hopes  of  being  restored  to  his  native  country,  he 
attached  himself  to  the  interests  of  the  new  emperor,  in 
whose  service  he  is  sup]:)osed  to  have  written  his  Latin 
work  "  De  Monarchia,"  in  which  he  asserts  the  rights  of 
the  empire  against  the  encroachments  of  the  papacy.  In 
1311,  he  instigated  the  emperor  to  lay  siege  to  Florence, 
in  which  enterprize,  says  one  of  his  biographers,  ho  did 
not  chuse  to  appear  in  person,  from  motives  of  respect  to 
his  native  country.  But  the  emperor  was  repulsed  by  the 
Florentines;  and  his  death,  which  happened  next  year, 
deprived  Dante  of  all  hopes  of  re-establishment  in  his  na- 
tive country.  After  this  disappointment  he  is  supposed  to 
have  spent  several  years  in  roving  about  Italy,  in  a  state  of 
poverty  and  dependance ;  till  he  found  an  honourable 
establishment  at  Ravenna,  by  the  friendship  of  Guido  No- 
vello  de  Polenta,  lord    of  that  place,  who  received  this 


272  DANTE. 

illustrious  exile  with  the  most  endearing  liberality,  con- 
tinued to  protect  him  during  the  few  remaining  years  of 
his  life,  and  extended  his  munificence  even  to  the  ashes  of 
the  poet. 

Eloquence  was  one  of  the  many  talents  which  Dante 
possessed  in  an  eminent  degree ;  on  this  account  he  is  said 
to   have  been   employed   in  fourteen    different  embassies 
during  the  course  of  his  life,  and  to  have  succeeded  in 
most  of  them.     His  patron  Guido  had  occasion  to  try  his 
abilities  in  a  service  of  this  nature,  and  dispatched  him  as 
his  ambassador,  to  negociate  a   peace  with  the  Venetians, 
who  were  preparing  for  hostilities  against  Ravenna.     Ma- 
netti   asserts   that    he    was     unable    to    procure    a  public 
audience  at   Venice,  and   returned  to  Ravenna  by   land, 
from  his  apprehension  of  the  Venetian  fleet.     But  the  fa- 
tigue of  his  journey,  and  the  mortincaiion  of  having  failed 
in  his  attempt  to  preserve   his  generous  patron  from  the 
impending  danger,  threw  him  into  a  fever,  which  terminated 
in  death.     He  died  Sept.  14,  1321,  in  the  palace  of  Guido, 
who  paid  the  most  tender  regard  to  his  memory.     This 
magnificent  patron,  says  Boccaccio,  commanded  the  body 
to  be   adorned  with  poetical  ornaments;  and  after  being 
carried  on  a  bier  through  the  principal  streets  of  Ravenna, 
by  the  most  illustrious  citizens,  to  be  deposited  in  a  mar- 
ble  coffin.     He   pronounced  himself  the  funeral   oration, 
and  expressed  his  design  of  erecting  a  most  splendid  mo- 
nument, in  honour  of  the   deceased ;  a  design,  which  his 
subsequent  misfortunes  rendered  him  unable  to  accomplish. 
At  his   request,  however,  many  epitaphs  were  written  on 
the   poet.     The  best  of  them,    says    Boccaccio,    was   by 
Giovanni  di  Viro-ilio,  of  Boloo;na,  a  famous  author  of  the 
time,  and  the  intimate  friend  of  Dante.     Bernardo  Bembo, 
the  father  of  the   celebrated  cardinal,  raised  a  handsome 
monument  over  the  neglected  ashes  of  the  poet,  with  a 
Latin   inscription ;    but   before   this,    the   Florentines   had 
vainly  endeavoured  to  gain  the  bones  of  their  great  poet 
from  the  city  of  Ravenna.     In  the  age  of  Leo  X.  they  made 
a  second  attempt,  by  a  solemn  application  to  the  pope  for 
that  purpose  ;  and   Michael   Angelo,  an  enthusiastic   ad- 
mirer of  Dante,  very  liberally  ottered  to  execute  a  magni- 
ficent monument  to  the  poet,  but  the  hopes  of  the  Floren- 
tines were  again  unsuccessful. 

Dante  is  described  by  Boccaccio,  as  a  man  of  middle 
stature i  his  demeanour  was  solemn,  and  his  walk  slow; 


DANTE.  273 

his  dress  suitable  to  his  age  and  rank ;  his  visage  lono-,  his 
nose  aquiline,  his  eyes  tull,  his  cheek-bones  lar"e,  and 
tipper  lip  a  little  projecting  over  the  under  one;  his  com- 
plexion was  olive,  his  hair  and  beard  thick  and  curled.  This 
gave  him  that  singularity  of  aspect,  which  made  his  ene- 
mies observe,  that  he  looked  like  one  who  had  visited  the 
infernal  regions.  His  deportment,  both  in  public  and  pri- 
vate life,  was  regular  and  exemplary,  and  his  moderation 
in  eatini;  and  drinking  remarkable. 

His  fanie  rests  on  his  "  Divina  Commedia,"  unquestion- 
ably a  great  and  singular,  but  very  unequal  work.  At 
vvhat  time,  or  in  what  place,  he  wrote  it,  his  numerous 
commentators  seem  unable  to  determine.  The  life  of 
Dante,  in  which  we  have  principally  follov/ed  Mr.  Boyd, 
in  the  preliminary  matter  to  his  excellent  translation,  is 
after  all  not  the  life  of  a  poet,  nor  does  it  furnish  the  in- 
formation we  naturally  look  for  in  order  to  enable  us  to 
trace  the  progress  of  genius.  Boccaccio  asserts,  that  he 
began  the  "  Commedia"  in  his  thirtj'-eiglith  year,  and. 
had  finished  seven  cantos  of  his  *'  Inferno"  before  his 
exile,  and  that  in  the  plunder  of  his  house,  on  that  event, 
the  beginning  of  his  poem  was  fortunately  preserved,  but 
remained  for  some  time  neglected,  till,  its  merit  being  ac- 
cidentally discovered  by  an  intelligent  poet,  Dino,  it  was 
sent  to  the  marquis  Marcello  Marespina,  an  Italian  noble- 
man, by  whom  Dante  was  then  protected.  The  marquis 
restored  these  lost  papers  to  the  poet,  and  intreated  him 
to  proceed  in  the  work,  which  opened  in  so  promising  a 
manner.  To  this  accident  we  are  probably  intlel)ted  for 
the  poem  of  Dante,  which  he  must  have  continued  under 
all  the  disadvantages  of  an  unfortunate  and  agitated  life. 
It  does  not  appear  at  vvhat  time  he  completed  it :  perhaps 
before  he  quitted  Verona,  as  he  dedicated  the  "  Paradcso'* 
to  his  Veronese  patron.  The  critics  are  not  agreed  why 
he  called  this  poem   "  Commedia." 

The  very  high  estimation  in  which  this  work  was  held  ia 
Florence  appears  from  a  very  singular  institution.  The 
republic  of  Florence,  in  1373,  assigned  a  public  stipend 
to  a  person  appointed  to  read  lectures  on  the  poem  of 
Dante.  Boccaccio  was  the  first  person  engaged  in  this 
office;  but  his  death  happening  two  years  after  his  ap- 
pointment, his  comment  extended  only  to  the  first  seven- 
teen  cantos  of  the  "  Inferno."  Another  very  terrible  in- 
stance of  their  veneration  for  their  native  bard  is  tuld  by 

Vol.  XL  T 


274  DANTE. 

tbe  author  of  the  "  Memoires  de  Petrarque."  Ceno  de 
Ascoli,  a  celebrated  physician  and  astrologer,  had  the 
boldness  to  write  parodies  on  the  poem  of  Dante.  This 
drew  on  him  the  animadversion  of  the  inquisition.  Charles, 
duke  of  Calabria,  thought  to  protect  him,  but  in  vain. 
The  bishop  of  Aversa,  his  chancellor,  declared  it  was 
highly  impious  to  entertain  a  sorcerer  as  a  physician,  and 
Ascoli  was  accordingly  burnt  at  Florence,  about  three 
years  after  the  death  of  the  poet  whom  he  had  maligned. 

The  "  Commedia"  of  Dante  is  a  species  of  satiric  epic, 
in  which  the  reader  is  conducted  through  the  three  stages, 
*'  the  Inferno,"  the  "  Purgatorio,"  and  "  Paradise,"  the 
whole  consisting  of  a  monstrous  assemblage  of  characters, 
pagan  heroes  and  philosophers,  Christian  fathers,  kings, 
popes,  monks,  ladies,  apostles,  saints,  and  hierarchies ;  yet 
frequently  embellished  with  passages  of  great  sublimity  and 
pathos  (of  the  latter,  what  is  comparable  to  the  tale  of 
Ugolino  ?)  and  imagery  and  sentiments  truly  Homeric. 
The  highest  praise,  however,  must  be  given  to  his  "  In- 
ferno," a  subject  which  seems  to  have  suited  the  gloomy 
wildness  of  his  imagination,  which  appears  tamed  and 
softened  even  in  the  most  interesting  pictures  in  the 
*' Purgatorio"  and  "  Paradiso."  Whether,  says  an  excel- 
lent living  critic,  Dante  was  stimulated  to  his  singular 
work  by  the  success  of  his  immediate  predecessors,  the 
Provencal  poets,  or  by  the  example  of  the  ancient  Roman 
authors,  has  been  doubted.  The  latter  opinion,  Mr.  Ros- 
coe  thinks  the  more  probable.  In  his  "  Inferno"  he  had 
apparently  the  descent  of  iEneas  in  view,  but  in  the  rest 
of  his  poem  there  is  little  resemblance  to  any  antecedent 
production.  Compared  with  the  ^Eiieid,  adds  Mr.  Ros- 
coe,  "  it  is  a  piece  of  grand  Gothic  architecture  at  the  side 
of  a  beautiful  Roman  temple,"  on  which  an  anonymous 
writer  remarks  that  this  Gothic  grandeur  miserably  de^^ene- 
rates  in  the  adjoining  edifices,  the  "  Purgatorio"  and 
*«  ]»aradiso." 

'^i'he  editions  of  Dante's  *'  Commedia"  have  been  very 
numerous.  The  best  is  said  to  be  that  of  Venice,  1757, 
3  vols.  4to.  It  was  first  printed  in  1472,  probably  at  Fo- 
ligno,  in  a  folio  volume,  without  place.  This  is  of  great  ra- 
rity and  value.  The  second  is  in  folio  of  the  same  date,  and 
tiie  third  also  of  the  same  date  in  4to.  The  three  are  ac- 
curately described  by  Mr.  Dibdin  in  his  valuable  tract, 
*'  Book  Riiriiies."     Dunte  is  the  author  of  some  sonnets 


DANTE.  2)5 

which  are  not  unworthy  of  him.  A  considerable  number 
of  them  are  in  his  *'  Vita  Nuova."  In  the  few  Latin  works 
he  wrote,  his  progress  in  that  language  is  evident,  but  all 
were  soon  so  eclipsed  by  his  "  Commedia,"  that,  except 
as  matters  of  curiosity,   they  have  seldom  been  perused.' 

Dante  (Ignatius),  according  to  some,  a  descendant 
of  the  famous  poet,  was  born  at  Perugia  in  15:37,  and  look 
the  hdbit  of  a  Dominican.  He  became  skilful  in  philoso- 
phy and  divinity,  but  more  so  in  the  mathematics.  He 
was  invited  to  Florence  by  the  great  duke  Cosmo  I.  and 
explained  to  him  the  sphere  and  the  books  of  Ptolemv, 
and  left  here  a  marble  quadrant,  and  an  equinoctial  aiid 
meridian  line  on  the  front  of  the  church  of  St.  Maria  No- 
vella. He  read  public  lectures  on  the  same  subject,  and 
had  many  auditors  in  the  university  of  Bologna,  where  he 
was  appointed  mathematical  professor.  Before  he  returned 
to  Perugia,  he  made  a  fine  map  of  that  city,  and  of  it'i 
whole  territory,  and  in  1376  traced  the  grand  meridian  in 
the  church  of  St.  Petrona,  which  Cassini  completed.  The 
reputation  of  his  learning  caused  him  to  be  invited  to  Rome 
by  Gregory  XIII.   who  employed   him  in   makintr  seoo-ra- 

1  ■      I  II  ^       ->  coo 

pineal  maps  and  plans.  He  acquitted  himself  so  well  in 
this,  that  the  pope  thought  himself  obliged  to  prefer  him  ; 
and  accordingly  gave  him  the  bishopric  of  Alatri,  near 
Rome.  He  went  and  resided  in  his  diocese  ;  but  Sixtus  V. 
who  succeeded  Gregory  XIII.  would  have  him  near  his 
person,  and  ordered  him  to  return  to  Home.  Dante  was 
preparing  for  the  journey,  but  was  prevented  by  death,  in 
1586.  His  principal  works  are,  "  A  Treatise  of  the  Con- 
struction and  Use  of  the  Astrolabe,"  "  Mathematical  Ta« 
bles,"  and  a  "  Commentary  on  the  Laws  of  Perspective."" 
DANTE  (John  Baptist),  of  the  san)e  family,  proba- 
bly, with  the  preceding,  and  native  also  of  Perugia,  was 
an  excellent  mathematician,  and  is  memorable  for  having 
fitted  a  pair  of  wings  so  exactly  to  his  body,  as  to  be  able 
to  fl}'  with  them.  He  made  the  experiment  several  times 
over  the  lake  Trasimenus;  and  succeeded  so  well,  that  he 
had  the  courage  to  perform  before  the  whole  city  of  Peru- 
gia, during  the  solemnity  of  the  niarriage  of  Bartholomew 

'  Life  prefixed  to  Mr.  Boyd's  Translation  of  the  Commedia,  1802,  3  vols.  Svo. 
Of  this  work  it  may  be  justly  said  that  few  translators  have  ever  entered  more 
into  the  spirit  of  their  author,  or  transfused  it  with  more  succe.ss — Gmguene 
Hist.  Lit.  d'ltalie,  vol,  I,  43T,  a  very  elaborate  article. — Tiraboschi. — R.jscott  * 
Lorenzo,  &,c.  &c,  2  Moreri— Gen.  Diet.— Tiraboschi, 

T  2 


^76  DAN  T  E. 

d'Alviano  with  the  sister  of  Joljn  Paul  Baolioni.  He  shot 
himself  from  the  highest  part  of  the  city,  and  directed  his 
flight  over  the  square,  to  the  admiration  of  the  spectators: 
but  unfortunately  the  iron,  with  which  he  managed  one  of 
his  wings,  failed  ;  and  then,  not  being  able  to  balance  the 
weight  of  his  body,  he  fell  on  a  church,  and  broke  his 
thigh.  Bayle  fancies,  that  the  history  of  this  Daedalus,  for 
so  he  was  called,  will  not  generally  be  credited ;  yet  he 
observes,  that  it  is  said  to  have  been  practised  at  other 
places,  for  which  he  refers  us  to  the  *'  Journal  des  S^a- 
vans"  of  1678.  Dante  was  afterwards  invited  to  be  pro- 
fessor of  the  mathematics  at  Venice.  He  flourished  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  died  before  he 
was  forty  years  old.  ^ 

DANTE  (Pete II  Vincent),  a  native  of  Perugia,  of  the 
family  of  Rainaldi,  imitated  so  well  the  verses  of  the  poet 
Dante,  that  he  was  generally  called  by  his  name.  He  was 
not  less  distinguished  by  the  delicacy  of  his  poetry,  than 
by  his  skill  in  the  mathematics  and  in  architecture.  He 
died  in  1512,  in  an  advanced  age,  after  having  invented 
several  machines,  and  composed  a  commentary  on  the 
sphere  of  Sacrobosco.  His  grandson  Vincent  Dante,  an 
able  mathematician,  like  him,  v/as  at  the  same  time  pain- 
ter and  sculptor.  His  statue  of  Julius  HI.  has  been  gene- 
rally looked  upon  as  a  master-piece  of  the  art.  Philip  II. 
king  of  Spain,  offered  him  a  large  salary  to  induce  him  to 
come  and  finish  the  paintings  of  the  Escurial ;  but  the  de- 
licacy of  Dante's  constitution  would  not  permit  him  to  quit 
jjis  natal  air.  He  died  at  Perugia  in  1576,  at  the  age  of 
forty-six.  There  is  extant  by  him,  "  The  lives  of  those 
who  have  excelled  in  drav/ings  for  statues.'" 

D'ANTINE  (Francis),  a  Benedictine  of  the  congrega- 
tion of  St.  IMaur,.  was  born  at  Gouvieux  in  the  diocese  of 
Liege,  in  1688,  and  made  himself  highly  respected  among 
ids  brethren  by  his  piety  and  charitable  attention  to  the 
poor  and  afflicted.  To  the  learned  world  he  is  known  as 
the  editor  of  the  first  five  volumes  of  the  new  edition  of 
Du  Cange's  Glossar\-,  in  1736,  which  he  very  much  im- 
proved and  enlarged.  He  was  also  one  of  the  editors  of 
the  great  collection  of  French  historians  begun  by  Bou- 
quet, and  of  the  "  Art  de  verifier  les  dates,"  of  which  a 

1  Gen.  Diet. — Moreri. 
•'3  Oen.  Diet. — Moieri. — In  both  whom  there  is  some  tliflPerence  as  to  the  rels- 
♦iunship  wf  the«e  Danlcs,  but  Ihcy  appear  tg  J^ave  been  of  tie  eauie  family. 


D'A  N  T  r  N  E. 


•Zl  I 


new  edition  was  published  by  Clement  in  1770,  folio. 
D' Amine  translated  the  Psalms  from  the  Hebrew,  Paris, 
J  739  and   17^0.      He  died  in  1  746. ' 

DANTZ,  or  DANS  (John  Andrew),  a  learned   Ger- 
man  divine   of  the   Lutheran    chnrcb,   and   whose   talents 
contributed  greatly  to  raise  the  reputation  of  the  university 
of  Jena,   was  born   Feb.  1,    1654,   at 'Sandhusen,  a  village 
near  Gotha.      He  appears  to  have  obtained  the  [)atronage 
of  the  duke   Frederick,   who  defrayed  the  expence  of  his 
education,    both  at  school,  and  at  the  university  of  Wit- 
tenjberg,    where    he    took   his   mastei"'s    degree   in    1676. 
Having  devoted  much  of  his  attention  to  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage and  antiquities,  he  went   to  Hamburgh,  where   he 
proHted  by   ilie  assistance    of  Esdras  Edzardi    and   other 
learned  Jews,   and  was  enabled  to  read  the  rabbinical  wri- 
tings with  ficihty.     From   Hamburgh  he  went  to  Leipsic, 
and  thence  to  Jena,  from  wiiich  in    l6S;i  he  visited  Hol- 
land and   England,    acquiring   in   both   countries   the  ac- 
quaintance of  men  of  learning.     On  his  return,   having  de- 
termined to  settle  at  Jena,  he  was  appointed  professor  ex- 
traordinary of  the  oriental  languages,   and  on   the  death  of 
the  learned  Frischmuth,  was  advanced   to    be  professor- 
ordinary.      In  these  offices  he  acquired  great  reputation, 
and  attracted  a  number  of  forei'j;n  students.     Some  time 
a/ter,  he  was  appointed  professor  of  divinity,  in  which  he 
was  no  less  popular.      He   died  of  a  stroke   of  apoplexy, 
Dec.    20,    1727.     He    wrote,   among    many    other   works, 
*'  Sinceritas  sacrae  ScripturiB  veteris  testamenti  triumphans, 
cujus  prodromus  Sinceritas  Scripturaj  Vet.  Test,  prevalente 
Keri  vacillans,"  Jena,  1713,  'ko;  and  various  dissertatioiiij 
in   Latin,  in  controversy  with  the   Jews,  or  on  topics  of 
Jewish    antiquities,    particularly    "  Divina    Elohim    inter 
coaequales  de  priino  homi.ie  condcndo  deliberatio,"  1712  ; 
*'  Inauguratio  Christi  hand  obscurior  Mosaica,  decern  dis- 
sert, asserta,"  Jena,  1717,  4to;  and  a  very  ingenious  tract 
entitled  "  Davidis  in  Ammonitas  devictos  miligata  crude- 
litas,"  WIS.'' 

DANVEllS  (Henry),  a  brave  warrior  in  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  and  beginning  of  the  soventeeiuh  ceatury,  and 
created  earl  of  Danby  by  king  Charles  1.  was  tiie  se(  ond 
son   of  sir  John    Danvers,   knigl't,   by  Elizabeth  his   wilCj 

*  Diet.  Hist. — and  Moreri  in  An  tine. 

9  Moreri. — Uibl.  Gemiariciue,  vol.  XVII."— Memoirs  of  Literature,  vel.  II, 


278  D  A  N  V  E  R  S. 

dauditer  and  coheir  to  John  Nevil  the  last  lord  Latimer. 
He  was  born  at  Dantesey  in  Wiltshire,  on  the  28th  of  June, 
1577;.     After  an  education  suitable  to  his  birth,    he  went 
and  served  in  the  Low  Country  wars,   under  Maurice  count 
of  Nassau,  afterwards  prince  of  Orange  ;  and  was  engaged 
in  many  military  actions  of  those  times,   both  by  sea  and 
land.      He  was  made  a   captain  in  the  wars  of  France,  oc- 
casioned  in    that   kmgdom    by   the    League  ;     and    there 
knio-hted   for  his   good  service   under   Henry  IV.  king  of 
France.      He  was  next  employed  in  L-eland,  as  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  horse,  and  serjeant-major  of  the  whole  army, 
under  Robert  earl  of  Essex,  and   Charles  Daron  of  Mont- 
ioy,  in  tue  reign  of  queen  Elizabeth.     Upon  the  accession 
of  king  James  L  he  was,  on  account  of  his  family's  des,  rts 
and  sufferings,  advanced,  July  21,  1603,  to  the  dignity  of  a 
peer  of  this  realm,   by  the  title  of  Baron  of  Dantesey  :  and 
in  1  603,  by  a  special  act  of  parliament,  restored  in  blood 
as  heir  to  his  father,  notwithstanding  the  attainder  of  his 
elder  brother,  sir  Charles  Danvers,  knight.      He  was  also 
appointed  lord   president  of  Monster  in  Ireland  ;  and  in 
1620  made  governor  of  the  Isle  of  Guernsey  for  life.     By- 
king  Charles  I.  he  was  created  earl  of  Danby,  February  5, 
1625  6  ;  and   made  of  his  privy  council;   and    knight  of 
the  order  of  the  garter.      Being  himself  a  man  of  learning, 
as  well  as  a  great  enconrager  of  it,  and  observing  that  op- 
pottunitics   were  wanting  in  the   university  of  Oxford  for 
the  useful  study  of  botany,  he  purchased  for  the  sum  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  five  acres  of  ground,  oppo- 
site  Magdalen   college,   which   had  formerly  served   for  a 
buryiiig-place  to  the  Jews  (residing   in    great  numbers  at 
Oxford,  till  they  were  expelled  England  by  king  Edward  I. 
in  1290),  and  conveyed  his  right  and  title  to  that  piece  of 
land  to  the  university,  on  the  27th  of  March,  1622.     The 
ground  being  first  considerably  raised,  to  prevent  its  being 
ovorfiowed   by   the  river  Cherwell,  the  heads  of  the  uni- 
versity laid  the  first  stones  of  the  walls,  on  the   25th  of 
July  following.     They  were  finished  in   1633,  being  four- 
teen feet  high  :  and  cost  the  noble  benefactor  about  five 
thousand  pounds.     The  entrance  into  the  garden  is  on  the 
north   side  under  a   stately  gate,  the  charge  of  building 
which  amomucd  to  between  five  and   fix  hundred  jiounds. 
Upon  the  front  of  that  gateway,  is  this  Latin  inscription  ; 
Gloriac  D-i  Opt.  Max.  Honori  Caroli  Regis,  in  usum  Acad. 
1?t  Kfipub.  Henricus  Comes  Danby,   D.D.  MDCXXXU" 


D  A  N  V  E  R  S.  275 

For  the  maintenance  of  it,  and  of  a  gardener,  the  noble 
founder  left,  by  will,  the  impropriate  rectory  of  Kirkdale 
in  Yorkshire  :  which  was  afterwards  settled  for  the  suine 
purpose,  by  his  brother  and  heir  sir  John  Danvers,  knt. 
The  earl  of  Danby's  will  bore  date  the  14th  of  December, 
1640. 

He  founded  also  an  alms-house,  and  a  free-school,  at 
Malmesbury  in  Wiltshire.  In  his  latter  days  he  chose  a 
retired  life  ;  and  (npon  what  account  is  not  well  known) 
fell  under  the  displeasure  of  the  court*.  At  length,  he 
died  at  his  house  in  Cornbury  Park  in  Oxfordshire,  Jan. 
20,  1643-4,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age:  and  was 
buried  in  the  chancel  of  the  parish-church  of  Dantesey, 
under  a  noble  monument  of  white  marble,  with  an  epi- 
taph which  contains  a  high  character  of  him.  He  was  never 
married, 

His  younger  brother  and  heir  was  sir  John  Danvers,  knt. 
one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  privy-chamber  to  Charles  I. 
who  was  so  ungrateful  and  inhuman,  as  to  sit  in  judgment 
upon  his  gracious  master,  that  unfortunate  prince,  and  to 
be  one  of  those  who  signed  the  warrant  for  his  execution. 
He  died  before  the  restoration  of  king  Charles  II.  but,  how- 
ever, all  his  estates  both  real  and  personal  were  confis- 
cated in  1661.' 

DAPPERS  (Oliver  or  Olfert),  a  physician  at  Amster- 
dam, who  died  in  1690,  gained  some  reputation  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  by  the  descriptions  he  published 
from  1668  to  1680,  in  Dutch,  of  Malabar,  Coromandel, 
Africa,  Asia,  Syria,  Palestine,  and  America,  in  as  many 
folio  volumes.  These  were  the  fruits  of  very  accurate  and 
laborious  compilation,  for  he  had  never  seen  one  of  those 
countries.  The  description  of  Africa,  and  that  of  the 
Archipelago,  were  translated  into  French.' 

DARAN  (James),  a  b>ench  military  surgeon,  who  ac- 
quired much  celebrity  for  his  skill  in  treating  disorders  in 
the  urethra,  particularly  for  his  improved  method  of 
making  bougies,  was  born  at  St.  Fra.jon  in  Gascony  March 
6,  1701,  and  after  studying  the  art,  became  surgeon-major 

*  He  was  fined  five  thousand  pounds  would   not   have    been   inflicted  upon 

in  the  star-chamber,  for  liaving  felled  him,  had  he  beeu   in  the  goodgiacea 

timber     in    Wichwood-forest,-    without  of  the  court, 
licence ;    a  severe   puuislimenl,    which 

'  Riog.  Rrii.— Fuller's  Worthies,  and  Lloyd's  Stale  Wovthits^ 
9  AJoreri, — Diet.  Uist, 


280  D  A  R  A  N. 

of  the  imperial  troops,  and  afterwards  practised  at  Milan, 
and   at  Turin,  where  the  king  Victor  Amadeus  promised 
him  great  encoura-iement  if  lie  would  remain  ;  but  at  that 
time  he  wished  to  travel  for  improvement,  and  after  visit- 
ing Rome  and  Viemia,  continued  some  time  at   Messina, 
where  he  exerted  his  skill  and  humanity  with  great  success. 
Having  devoted  much  of  his  attentiim  to  the  disorders  of 
the  bladder,  he  pubhshed  in    1745,   "Recueil  d'Ohserva- 
tions  Chirurgicales  sur  les  Maladies  de  1' Urethra,"  which 
has  been  several  times  reprinted,  and  in  1750,   v\as  trans- 
lated  into  English  by  Mr.  Tomkyns,  an  eminent  surgeon 
of  London,  who  was  able,  he  says,  from  his  own  experience, 
to  attest  the  superior  uiility  of  Daran's  bougies  ovei  those 
that  had  been  commonly  used.     In  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
*' Journv-aux  de   Medicine,"   there  is  a  communication  by 
Daran,   in  which  he  makes  mention  of  a  tube  he  had  in- 
vented for  drawing  off  the  urine.     This  he  describes  more 
particularly  in  his  "Treatise  on  the  Gonorrhoea  Virulenia,'* 
first  published  in   1756.     It  is  a  flexible  catheter,   formed 
of  a  spiral  wire,  covered  with  the  same  composition  as  that 
used  in  making  tiie  bougies,  and  was  capable  of  being  in- 
troduced into  tlie  bladder,  in  many  cases,  where  it  would 
have  been  dangerous,  oiten  impossible,  to   use  the  com- 
mon catheter.  Considerable  improvements  have  been  since 
made  of  this  instrument,  but  the  merit  of  the  invention 
still  remains  with  Daran.     The  fame  he  acijnired,   during 
his  residence  at  Paris,  brought  a  nu.   her  of  strangers  to 
visit  him,  and  the  profits  of  his  practice  were  very  great ; 
but  his  charity  to  the  indigent,  and  an  easiness  of  temper, 
which   led   him   into  speculations,  reduced  him  at  last  to 
very  low  circumstances,    and  he  was  comparatively  poor 
when   he  died,   in    1784.     It  is  much  to  his  honour  that 
when  thus  reduced,  and  when  the  infirmities  of  age  were 
approaching,  lie  divulged,  in  1779,  the  secret  of  the  com- 
position of  his  bougies  in  a  work  entitled  "  Composition 
du  -emede  de  Daran,   ike."   12mo,  when   he  could  derive 
no  i)enefit  except  from  rlie  sale  of  his  book.     His  other 
pnbli'ations  were,   1.  "  lle;)onse  a  la  Brochure  de   Bayet 
sur  la  defense  ct  la  conservation  des  parties  les  plus  essen- 
tielles  de  rhomme,"  1750,  l2moi  and  2.  *' LeLtre  sur  un 
article  des  Tunieurs."' 
DAllCI.     fc'ee  DARCY. 

*  Pict.  Hist. — Rees's  CyclopcBdla. 


D' A  R  C  O  N.  281 

D'ARCON  (John  Claudius  Elf.onore  Limiceaud),  aa 
cmiuenc   Frencii   engineer,   and   nic'iuorablc   in    history  as 
tlie  cuitiriver  uf  a  mode  of  besieging  Gibraltar  whiclj  proved 
so  t'aial  to  Ills  country. iien,  was  bor.i  at  Poiitarlier  in  173;i. 
H:s  father,  an  advocate,   intended  to  bring  him  uj)  to    the 
church,  and  had   provided  him   witn  a  benefice,   but  Dar- 
5on  from  his  infancy  had  a  turn  for  tiie   military  life;  and 
when  at  scliool,   instead  of  learnin|T    Latin,   was   copying 
drawings  and  sketches  of  fortiticaiioiis.     On  one  occasion 
he  took  a   singular  mode  of  acquainting  his  parents  vvitli 
the  error  they  had  committetl,  in  seeking  a  profession  for 
him.      Having  by  their  desire  sat  for  his  portrait,   he  sub- 
stituted,  with  his  own  hand,  the  uniform  of  an  engineer, 
instead  of  the   dress  of  an  abbe,  in  which  the  artist  had 
clotlied  him.     His  father,  struck  with  this  silent  hint,   no 
longer  opposed  his  inclinations.     In  175  4-  he  was  admitted 
into  the  school  of  Meziere-!,  and  the  following  year  was 
received  as  an   ordinary  engineer.     He  served  afterwards 
vvitii  distinguislieJ  honour  in  the  seven  years'  war,  and  par- 
ticularly in  176  1,  at  thy  defence  of  Cassel.     He  afterwards 
devoted  hims-lf  to  impv*)vements  in  the  military  art,  and 
even  in  the  making  of  drawings  and  charts;   and  having 
great   ambition,  with   a  warmth  of  imagination   that  pre- 
sented every  thing  as  practicable,  he  at  length   in    1780 
conceived  the  memorable  plan  of  the  siege  of  Gibraltar. 
This,  say  his  countrymen,  which  has  made  so  much  noise 
in   Kurope,  has  not  been  fairly  estimated,  because  every 
one  has  judged  from  the  event.     Without  entering,  how- 
ever, in  this  place,  on  its  merits,  all  our  historians  have  at- 
tributed to  Dar^on's  ideas  a  grandeur  and  even  sublimity 
of  conception  which  did  him  mucii  honour,  and  it  is  yet 
remembered  that  almost  all   Kurope  was  so  perfectly  con- 
vinc  (l  of  the  success  of  the  plan  as  to  admit  of  no  doubt 
or  o  )|ection.      Nothing  of  the  kind,   however,   was   ever 
attended  with  a  disconiliiure  more  complete,  and  D'Ar9on 
wrote  and  printed  a  species  of  justification,  which  at  least 
shows  the  bitterness  of  his  disappointment.     On  the  com- 
mencement of  the  revolutionary  war,  he  engaged  on  the 
popular  side ;    but,  except  some  concern  he  had  in  the 
invasion  of  Holland,  does  not  appear  to  have  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself.  He  was  twice  denounced  by  fluctuating 
governments ;  anti  being  treated  in  the  same  manner  after 
his  Dutch  campaign,    he   retired  from   the    siTvice,    and 
wrote  his  last  woxk  on  fortifications.     In  17'-»i«  the  first 


282  D*A  R  C  O  N. 

consul  introduced  him  into  the  senate,  but  he  did  not  en- 
joy this  lionoiir  lontr,  as  he  dud  July  1,  1800.  He  was  at 
that  time  a  inL^mber  of  the  Institute.  His  works,  still  in 
high  estimation  in  France,  are:  1.  "  Reflexions  d'un  in- 
genieur,  en  repoiise  a.  un  tacticien,"  Amst.  17  73,  12mo. 
2.  ''  Correspondance  sur  I'art  de  la  Guerre  entre  un  colo- 
nel de  dragons  et  un  capitaine  d'infanterie,"  Bouillon, 
1774,  8vo.  3.  "  Defense  d'une  systeme  de  Guerre  Na- 
tionule,  ou  analyse  raisonn6  d'un  ouvvage,  intitule  '  Re- 
futation complete  du  systeme,'  &c."  This  is  a  defence  of 
3V1.  JVlenil  Durand's  system,  which  had  been  attacked  by 
Guibert ;  and  the  preceding  pamphlet  has  a  respect  to  the 
same  dispute  concerning  vvliat  the  French  call  the  ordre 
projond  and  the  ordre  mince.  4.  *'  Conseil  de  Guerre  privc, 
sur  I'evenement  de  Gibraltar  en  1782,"  1785,  Svo.  5. 
*'  Memoires  pour  servir  a  I'histoire  du  siege  de  Gibraltar, 
par  I'auteur  des  batteries  flottantes,"  1783,  8vo.  6.  "  Con- 
siderations sur  Tinfluence  du  genie  de  Vauban  dans  la  ba- 
lance des  forces  de  I'etat,"  17  86,  Svo.  7.  "  Examen  de- 
taille  de  I'importante  question  de  Tulilite  des  places  fortes 
et  retranchments,"  Strasburgh,  1789,  Svo.  8.  "  De  la 
force  militaire  consideree  dans  ses  rapports  conservateurs,'* 
Strasburgh,  1789,  Svo,  with  a  continuation,  1790..  9. 
*'  Reponse  aux  Memoires  de  M.  de  Montalembert,  sur  la 
fortification  dite  perpendiculaire,"  1790,  Svo.  10.  "  Con- 
siderations militaires  et  politiques  sur  les  Fortifications," 
Paris,  1795,  Svo.  This,  which  is  the  most  important  of  all 
bis  works,  and  was  printed  at  the  expcnce  of  the  govern- 
ment, contains  the  essence  of  all  his  other  productions,  and 
the  result  of  his  experience  on  an  art  which  he  had  studied 
during  the  whole  of  his  life. ' 

DARCy  (Patrick,  Count),  of  a  noble  and  ancient  fa* 
mily  in  Ireland,  was  born  in  Galloway  Sept.  18,  1725.  His 
parents,  who  were  attached  to  the  exiled  house  of  Stuart, 
'Sent  him  to  Paris  in  1739,  where,  being  put  under  the 
care  of  M.  Clairault,  at  seventeen  years  of  age  he  gave  a 
new  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  curve  of  equal  pressure 
>n  a  resisting  medium.  This  was  followed  the  year  after 
by  a  determination  of  the  curve  described  by  a  heavy  body, 
sliding  by  its  o.vn  weight  along  a  moveable  plane,  at  the 
same  time  that  the  pressure  of  the  body  causes  an  horizon* 
tal  motion  in  the  plane.     This  problem  had  indeed  beeft 

J  Biog.  Uaiverselle  in  art.  Arcon, 


D  A  R  C  Y.  283 

solved  by  John  Bernoulli  and  Clairault;  but,  besides  that 
chevalier  Darcy's  method  was  peculiar  to  him,  we  discover 
throughout  the  work  traces  of  that  originality  which  is  the 
leading  character  of  all  his  productions.  The  commence- 
ment of  the  war  took  him  off  in  some  measure  from  his 
studies,  and  he  served  during  several  campaigns  in  Ger- 
many and  Flanders,  as  captain  of  the  regiment  of  Conde. 
In  1746  he  was  appointed  to  accompany  the  troops  that 
were  to  be  sent  to  Scotland  to  assist  the  pretender  ;  but  the 
vessel  in  which  he  sailed  was  taken  by  the  English,  and 
Darcy,  whose  life  was  forfeited  by  the  laws  of  his  countrv, 
as  being  taken  in  arms  against  her,  was  saved  by  the  hu- 
manity of  the  English  commander.  During  the  course  of 
this  war,  amidst  all  its  bustle  and  dangers,  he  found  lei- 
sure to  contribute  two  memoirs  to  the  academy.  The  first 
contained  a  general  principle  of  mechanics,  that  of  the 
preservation  of  the  rotatory  motion.  Daniel  Bernoulli  and 
Euler  had  found  it  out  in  1745  ;  but,  besides  that  it  is  not 
likely  their  works  should  have  reached  Mr.  Darcy  in  the 
midst  of  his  campaigns,  his  method,  which  is  different  from 
theirs,  is  equally  original,  simple,  elegant,  and  ingenious. 
This  principle,  which  he  again  brought  forward  in  1750, 
by  the  name  of  "  the  principle  of  the  preservation  of  ac- 
tion," in  order  to  oppose  it  to  Maupertuis's  principle  of  the 
least  action,  Darcy  made  use  of  in  solving  the  problem  of 
the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  :  here,  however,  he  mis- 
carried ;  and  in  general  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  though 
all  principles  of  this  kind  may  be  used  as  mathematical  for- 
mula?, two  of  them  at  least  must  necessarily  be  employed 
in  the  investigation  of  problems,  and  even  these  with  great 
caution  ;  so  that  the  luminous  and  simple  principle  given 
by  M.  d'Alembert  in  1742  is  the  only  one,  on  account  of 
its  being  direct,  which  can  be  sufficient  of  itself  for  the  so- 
tion  of  problems. 

Having  published  an  ''  Essay  on  Artillery"  in  1760, 
containing  various  curious  experiments  on  the  charges  of 
powder,  Ike.  and  several  improvements  on  Robins  (who 
was  not  so  great  a  mathematician  as  he),  Darcy  continued 
the  experiments  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life,  but  has  left 
nothing  behind  him.  In  1765  he  pulilished  his  "  Memoir 
on  the  duration  of  the  sensation  of  8iL;ht,"  the  most  inge- 
nious of  his  works,  and  that  which  shews  him  in  the  best 
light  as  an  accurate  and  ingenious  uiaker  of  experiments  : 
^)je  result  of  these  researches  wasj  that  a  body  may  souiq-« 


284  D  A  R  C  Y. 

times  pass  by  our  eyes  without  being  seen,  or  marking  its 
presence,  otherwise  than  by  weakening  the  brightness  of 
the  object  it  covers  ;  thus,  in  turning  pieces  of  card  painted 
blue  and  yellow,  you  only  perceive  a  continued  circle  of 
green  ;  thus  the  seven  prismatic  colours,  rapidly  turned, 
produce  an  obscure  white,  which  is  the  obscurer  as  the 
motion  is  more  rapid.  As  this  duration  of  the  sensation 
increases  with  the  brightness  of  the  object,  it  would  have 
been  interesting  to  know  the  laws,  according  to  which  the 
auo-mentation  of  the  duration  follows  the  intensity  of  the 
light,  and,  contrarywise,  what  are  the  gradations  of  the 
intensity  of  the  light  of  an  object  which  motion  makes  con- 
tinually visible  ;  but  Darcy,  now  obliged  to  trust  to  other 
eyes  than  his  own,  was  forced  to  relinquish  this  pursuit. 
Darcy,  always  eaiployed  in  comparing  mathematical  theory 
and  observation,  made  a  particular  use  of  this  principle  in 
his  "Memoir  on  Hydraulic  Machines,"  printed  in  1754. 
In  this  he  shews  how  easy  it  is  to  make  mistakes  in  looking 
by  experiment  for  the  laws  of  such  effects  as  are  sus- 
ceptible of  a  maximum  or  viiniimtm ;  and  indicates  at  the 
same  time,  how  a  system  of  experiments  may  be  formed, 
which  shall  lead  to  the  discovery  of  these  laws.  All  Dar- 
cy's  works  bear  the  character  which  results  from  the  union 
of  genius  and  philosophy  ;  but  as  he  measured  every  thing 
upon  the  largest  scale,  and  required  infinite  accuracy  in 
experiment,  neither  his  time,  fortune,  nor  avocations  al- 
lowed him  to  execute  more  than  a  very  small  part  of  what 
he  projected.  He  was  amiable,  spirited,  lively,  and  a  lover 
of  independence;  a  passion  to  which  he  sacrificed  even  in 
the  midst  of  literary  society,  where  perhaps  a  little  aristo- 
cracy may  not  be  quite  so  dangerous. 

Darcy,  though  estranged  from  it  by  circumstances,  loved 
and  respected  his  old  country:  the  friend  and  protector 
of  every  Irishman  who  came  to  Paris,  he  could  not  help 
feeling  a  secret  pride,  even  in  the  successes  of  that  enemy, 
against  whom  he  was  so  often  and  so  honourably  to  himself 
employed.  Of  his  personal  histor}-,  it  yet  remains  to  be 
added,  that  in  the  seven  years'  war  he  served  in  the  regi- 
ment of  Fitz-.Iames;  and  in  1770  was  appointed  mareschal 
de-camp,  and  the  same  year  the  academy  of  sciences  ad- 
mitted him  to  the  rank  of  pensionary.  In  1777  he  married 
a  niece  who  was  brought  up  under  his  care  at  Paris,  and 
then  took  the  name  of  Count  Darcy.  He  died  two  years 
alter  this  marriage,  Oct.  18,  177^-     Condorcet  wrote  his 


D  A  R  C  Y.  28 


o 


eloge,  published  in  the  History  of  the  Academy,  and  seems 
througliout  anxious  to  do  justice  to  iiis  talents  and  charac- 
ter, a  circumstance,  which,  we  are  told,  was  very  highly 
honourable  to  Condorcet,  as  he  had  been  most  unjustly 
the  continual  object  of  Durcy's  aversion  and  hatred.  Dar- 
cy's  essays,  printed  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  are  various  and  very  ingenious,  and  are  con- 
tained in  the  volumes  for  the  years  1742,  1747,  1749,  1750, 
1751,  1752,  1753,  1754,  1758,  1759,  1760,  1765,  and  in 
torn.  I.  of  the  "  Savans  Etrangers."  ' 

DARES  PHIIYGIUS,  a  Trojan  priest,  celebrated  by 
Homer,  is  said  to  have  written  a  history  of  the  Trojan  war, 
which  ^han  speaks  of  as  extant  in  his  time,  but  it  is  now 
lost,  and  that  which  goes  under  his  name  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  work  of  Septimus  Romanus,  who  flourished 
about  the  year  370.  There  are  editions  of  it  of  the  dates 
1472,  1541,  and  one  at  London,  1675,  but  it  has  most 
generally  been  printed  with  Dictys  Cretensis,  another  au- 
tlior  of  doubtful  authenticy.  ^ 

D'ARGONNE.     See  ARGONNE. 

D'ARQUIER  (AuGUSTiNc),  a  French  astronomer,  fel- 
low of  the  royal  society  of  Totdouse,  correspondent  mem- 
ber of  the  royal  academy  of  Paris,  and  a  member  of  the 
Institute,  was  born  at  Toulouse,  Nov.  23,  1718,  and  hav- 
ing early  cultivated  the  science  of  astronomy,  and  the 
sciences  connected  with  it,  devoted  his  long  life  to  the 
same  pursuits,  and  acquired  great  reputation  among  his 
countrymen.  Such  was  his  enthusiasm,  that,  without  any 
assistance  from  government,  he  purchased  the  most  va- 
luable instruments,  erected  an  observatory  on  his  honse, 
taught  scholars,  and  defrayed  the  expence  of  calculations, 
&c.  He  died  in  his  native  city,  Jan.  IS,  1802.  He  pub- 
lished, 1.  *'  Observations  Astronomiques  faites  a.  Toulouse, 
&c."  Paris,  1778,  4to,  the  most  complete  collection  of 
observations  that  had  ever  been  furnished  from  a  provin- 
cial city.  There  are  six  hundred  of  the  moon,  thirty- 
three  oppositions,  several  observations  of  Mercury,  of  the 
spots  in  the  sun,  the  satellites  of  Jupiter,  and  the  eclipses 
of  the  stars.  One  of  the  most  surprizing  circumstances  iu 
this  collection  is  the  great  number  of  the  passages  of  Mer- 
cury that  have  been  observed  by  M.  D'Arquier,  uotwith* 

*  E'oge  by  Condorcet, — i5iog,  Universelle, — and  Diet,  Hist.  In  Arty. 
'  Saxii  Onooiast. 


286  D'  A  II  Q  U  I  E  R. 

standing  the  pretended  difficulties  which  have  discouraged 
modern  astronomers  from  observing  that  planet.  2.  "  Ob- 
servations Astrononiiques,"  1783,  2  vols.  4to,  containing 
a  series  of  the  usual  astronomical  observations,  from  1748 
to  1781  :  some  useful  instructions  on  the  management  of 
the  pendulum:  and  observations  on  the  motion  and  mag- 
nitude of  the  Georgium  sidus.  3.  "  Lettres  sur  I'astro- 
nome  pratique,"  1786,  8vo.  Besides  these  he  published 
some  translations,  as  Sirason's  Geometry,  Lambert's  Cos- 
mological  Letters,  and  Uiloa's  Observation  on  the  eclipse 
of  the  sun  m  1778.  D'Arquier  died  Jan.  18,  1802,  in 
Toulouse,  * 

DARTIS  (John),  a  learned  lawyer,  was  born  1572,  at 
Cahors,  and  after  studying  there,  at  Khodez,  and  Tou- 
louse, went  to  Paris  with  the  president  de  Verdun,  and 
succeeded  Nicholas  Oudin  as  professor  of  law,  1618.  He 
was  afterwards  professor  of  common  law  at  the  royal  col- 
lege, and  died  April  2,  1651.  It  appears  from  his  works, 
which  were  published  at  Paris,  1656,  fol.  that  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  ancient  church  discij)line,  and  a  very 
useful  compiler,  if  not  a  profound  scholar.  He  published 
some  separate  tracts  besides  those  included  in  the  above 
volume,   which  are  enumerated  in  our  authorities.  '^ 

DARWIN  (Erasmus),  a  physician  and  poet,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Elton,  near  Newark,  Nottinghamshire,  where  he 
was  born  December  12,  1731.  After  going  through  the 
usual  school  education,  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burrows,  at 
the  grammar-school  at  Chesterfield,  with  credit,  he  was 
sent  to  ist.  John's  college,  at  Cambridge.  There  he  only 
continued  until  he  took  liis  baclielor's  degree  in  medicine, 
when  he  went  to  Edinburgh  to  complete  his  studies  ;  which 
being  finished,  and  having  taken  the  degree  of  doctor  in 
medicine,  a  profession  to  which  he  was  always  attached,  he 
went  to  Lichfield,  and  there  commenced  his  career  of  prac- 
tice. Being  sent  for,  soon  after  his  arrival,  to  Mr.  Inglis, 
a  gentleman  of  considerable  fortune  in  the  neighbourhood, 
who  was  ill  with  fever,  and  in  so  dangerous  a  state  that 
the  attending  physician  had  given  up  the  case  as  hopeless, 
the  doctor  had  the  good  fortune  to  restore  him  to  health. 
This  gave  him  so  high  a  degree  of  reputation  at  Litchfield, 
and  in  the  neighbouring  towns  and  villages,  that  his  coin- 

'  Diet.  Hist.— Month.  Rev.  vols.  LIX   and  LXX. 
Moreri.— Njcerou,  vul,  XXX,— X)ui)iu, 


DARWIN.  587 

petitor,  who  was  before  in  considerable  practice,  finding 
himself  neglected,  and  nearly  deserted,  left  the  place. 
Dr.  Darwin  soon  after  married  miss  Howard,  the  daughter 
of  a  respectable  inhabitant  of  Lichtield,  by  which  he 
strengthened  his  interest  in  the  place.  By  this  lady  he 
had  three  sons,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  manhood  ;  two  of 
them  lie  survived;  the  third,  Dr.  Robert  Waring  Darwin, 
is  no;v  in  considerable  practice  as  a  physician  at  Shrews- 
bury. In  1781,  our  author,  having  married  a  second  wife, 
removed  to  Derby,  where  he  continued  to  reside  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  happened  on  Sunday  the  18th  of 
April,  1802,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age.  Six  chil- 
tlren  by  Ids  second  lady,  with  their  mother,  remain  to  la- 
ment the  loss  of  him. 

The  doctor  was  of  an  athletic  make,  much  pitted  with 
the  smalUpox.  He  stammered  much  in  his  speech.  He 
had  enjoyed  an  almost  uninterrupted  good  slate  of  healtb 
Until  towards  the  conclusion  of  his  life,  which  he  attributed, 
and  reasonably,  to  his  temperate  mode  of  living,  particu- 
larly to  his  moderation  in  the  use  of  fermented  liquors. 
1'his  practice  he  recommended  strenuously  to  all  who  con- 
sulted him.  Miss  Seward,  from  whose  Memoirs  of  the 
Life  of  Dr.  Darwin  these  notices  are  principally  taken, 
gives  him  the  credit  of  having  introduced  habits  of  sobriety 
among  the  trading  part  of  Lichfield,  where  it  had  been 
the  custom  to  live  more  freely  before  he  went  to  reside 
there.  His  frequent  journies  into  the  country  on  profes- 
sional business,  contributed  also  in  no  small  degree  to  the 
preservation  of  his  health  and  his  faculties,  which  latter 
remained  unimpaired  to  the  day  of  his  death.  His  death 
w^as  sudden,  occasioned  by  a  fit  of  what  he  was  used  to  call 
angina-pectoris,  which  he  had  several  times  experienced, 
and  always  relieved  by  bleeding  plentifully. 

As  Dr.  Darwin  was  a  votary  to  poetry,  as  well  as  medi- 
cine, he  occasionally  sent  his  effusions  in  that  way,  to  one 
or  other  of  the  monthly  publications,  but  without  his  name, 
conceiving,  from  the  example  of  Akenside  and  Armstrong, 
that  the  reputation  he  might  acquire  by  his  poetry,  would 
operate  as  a  bar  to  his  advancement  in  the  practice  of 
medicine.  His  "  Botanic  Garden,"  in  which  he  celebrates 
what  he  calls  the  "  Loves  of  the  Plants,"  the  first  of  his 
poems  to  which  he  put  his  name,  was  not  publislied  until 
1781,  when  his  medical  fame  was  so  well  established  as  to 
iiwlie  it  safe  iox  hiiu  to  indulge  his  taste  in  any  way  he 


288  DARWIN. 

should  chiise.  Besides,  the  poem  was  so  amply  furnished 
witlj  notes,  containing  the  natural  history,  and  accounts  of 
the  properties  of  plants,  that  it  did  not  seem  very  alien 
from  iiis  profession.  The  Botanic  Garden  is  comprised  in 
two  parts.  In  the  first  the  author  treats  of  the  economy  of 
vegetahles,  in  the  second  of  the  loves  of  the  plants.  The 
novelty  of  the  design,  the  brdtiancy  of  the  diction,  full  of 
figurative  expressions,  in  which  every  thing  was  personified, 
rendered  the  poem  for  some  years  extremely  popular.  But 
the  fame  which  it  acquired  has  in  a  great  degree  subsided, 
and  it  is  now  little  noticed.  It  is  probable,  that  an  inge- 
nious little  poem,  "The  Loves  of  the  Triangles,"  published 
in  a  monthly  journal,  which  is  a  happy  iuntation  of  the 
Darwinian  manner,  contributed  to  its  decline. 

In  1793,  the  author  published  the  first  volume  of"  Zoo- 
Domia,  or  the  Laws  of  Organic  Life,"  4to.  The  second 
volume,  which  completed  the  author's  plan,  was  printed  in 
1796.  As  the  eccentric  genius  of  the  author  was  known, 
great  expectations  were  formed  of  this  work,  the  labour, 
we  were  told,  of  more  than  twenty  years.  It  was  to  reform, 
or  entirely  new  model,  the  whole  system  of  medicine,  pro- 
fessing no  less  than  to  account  for  the  manner  in  which 
man,  animals,  and  vegetables  are  formed.  They  all,  it 
seems,  take  their  origin  from  living  filaments,  susceptible 
of  irritation,  which  is  the  agent  that  sets  them  in  motion. 
Archimedes  was  wont  to  say,  "give  me  a  place  to  stand  on, 
and  I  will  move  the  earth :"  such  was  his  confidence  in 
his  knowledge  of  the  power  of  the  lever.  Our  author 
said,  "  give  me  a  fibre  susceptible  of  irritation,  and  I  will 
make  a  tree,  a  dog,  a  horse,  a  man."  "  I  conceive,"  he 
says,  Zoonomia,  vol.  I.  p.  492,  "  the  primordium,  or  ru- 
diment of  the  embryon,  as  secreted  from  the  blood  of  the 
parent,  to  consist  in  a  single  living  filament,  as  a  muscu- 
lar fibre,  whicli  I  suppose  "^o  be  the  extremity  of  a  nerve  of 
loco-motion,  as  a  fibre  of  the  retina  is  the  extremity  of  a 
nerve  of  sensation ;  as,  for  instance,  one  of  the  fibrils 
which  compose  the  mouth  of  an  absorbent  vessel  ;  I  sup- 
pose this  living  filament,  of  whatever  form  it  may  be, 
whether  sphere,  cube,  or  cylinder,  to  be  endued  with  the 
Ciipacity  of  being  excited  into  action  by  certain  kinds  of 
stimulus.  By  the  stimulus  of  the  surrounding  fluid  in  which 
it  is  received  from  tlie  male,  it  may  bend  into  a  ring,  and 
thus  form  the  beginning  of  a  tube.  This  living  ring  may 
uovy  embrace,  or  absorb  a  nutritive  particle  of  the  fluid  in 


DARWIN.  289 

which  it  swims,  and  by  drawing  it  inU>  its  pores,  or  joining 
it  by  compression  to  its  extremities,  may  increase  its  owu 
length  or  crassitude,  and,  by  degrees,  the  living  ring  may 
become  a  hving  tube.  With  this  new  organization,  or  ac- 
cretion of  parts,  new  kinds  of  irritability  may  commence,'* 
&c,;  whence,  sensibihty,  which  may  be  only  an  extension 
of  irritability,  and  sensibility  further  extended,  beget  per- 
ception, memory,  reason,  and,  in  short,  all  those  faculties 
which  have  been,  it  seems,  erroneously  attributed  to  mind, 
for  which,  it  appears,  there  is  not  the  smallest  necessity  ; 
and  as  the  Deity  does  nothing  in  vain,  of  course  such  a 
being  does  not  exist.  It  would  be  useless  to  enter  into  a 
further  examination  of  theZoonomia.  which  has  long  ceased 
to  be  popular ;  those  who  wish  to  see  a  complete  refuta- 
tion of  the  sophisms  contained  in  it  will  read  with  satisfac- 
tion, "  Observations  on  the  Zoonomia  of  Dr.  Darwin,  by 
Thomas  Brown,  esq."  published  at  Edinburgh  in  8vo,  in 
1798.  In  ISOI,  the  author  published  "  Phytologia,  or  the 
Philosophy  of  Agriculture  and  Gardening  ;"  but  the  pub- 
lic, tired  with  the  reveries  of  the  writer,  let  this  large  book 
of  600  pages  in  4to  pass  almost  unnoticed.  As  little  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  a  small  tract  on  Female  Education,  which, 
had  little  indeed  to  attract  notice.  "  It  is,"  Miss  Seward 
observes,  "  a  meagre  work,  of  little  general  interest,  those 
rules  excepted,  which  are  laid  down  for  the  preservation 
of  health."  It  is,  however,  harmless,  a  character  that  can 
by  no  means  be  accorded  to  the  Zoonomia,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  the  strictures  which  the  author  of  his  life  in 
the  Cyclopeedia  has  justly  passed  on  that  work,  and  to  which 
nothing  could  have  given  even  a  temporary  jjopularity 
but  the  activity  of  a  small  sect  to  whom  the  autlior's  po- 
litical and  religious,  or  rather  irreligious  principles,  were 
endeared.  His  son,  Charles  Darwin,  who  died  at  Edin- 
burgh the  15th  of  May,  1778,  while  prosecuting  bis  studies 
in  medicine,  deserves  to  be  noticed  for  having  discovered 
a  test  distinguishing  pus  from  mucus,  for  which  a  gold 
inedal  was  adjudged  him  by  the  university.  "  As  the  re- 
sult of  numerous  experiments,"  he  says,  "  when  any  one 
wishes  to  examine  the  matter  expectorated  by  his  patient, 
let  him  dissolve  a  portion  of  it  in  vitriolic  acid,  and  another 
portion  of  it  in  caustic  alkalin  lixivium,  and  then  add 
pure  water  to  both  solutions  ;  if  there  is  a  precipitation  iu 
<each  solution,  it  is  clear  the  expectorated  matter  is  pus  ; 
if  there  is  no  precipitation,  the  matter  is  simply  mucus.'* 
Vol.  XL  U 


290  D  A  R  W  I  N. 

Mr.  Darwin  left  an  unfinished  essay  on  the  retrograde  mo- 
tion of  the  absorbent  vessels  of  animal  bodies  in  some 
diseases.  This  was,  some  time  after  the  death  of  the 
young  man,  published  by  his  father,  together  with  the 
dissertation  for  which  he  had  obtained  the  prize  medal.  * 

DASSIER  (John),  medallist  to  the  republic  of  Geneva, 
where  he  was  born  in  1678,  aspiring  to  be  employed  in  the 
English  mint,  struck  a  series  of  kings  of  England  in  a  good 
style,  though  not  all  of  them  taken  from  originals.  He 
published  them  by  subscription  in  1731,  at  six  guineas  the 
set  in  copper,  and  fifteen  in  silver.  He  published  also 
a  series  of  events  in  the  Roman  History  ;  some  of  the 
great  characters  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI.;  and  a  series  of 
the  reformers.  He  died  in  1763.  His  brother  James  was 
in  London  three  or  four  years  to  solicit  a  place  for  John  in 
the  mint,  but  did  not  succeed.  James  Antony  Dassier,  ne- 
phew of  John,  came  over  on  Croker's  death  in  1740,  was 
next  year  appointed  second  engraver  to  the  mint,  returned 
to  Geneva  in  1745,  and  died  at  Copenhagen  in  1759.  The 
imcle  had  begun  large  medals  of  some  of  our  great  men 
then  living;  the  nephew  did  several  more,  which  were  sold 
in  copper  at  7^.  Gr/.  each.  There  is  also  a  numerous  suite 
of  Roman  liistory  in  small  medals  of  bronze,  by  the  younger 
Dassier,  that  are  good  performances.^ 

D'ASSOUCL     SeeASSOUCL 

DATI  (AuGUSTiNii),  a  learned  Italian  writer,  the  son  of 
a  lawyer  at  Sienna,  was  born  at  that  place  in  1420,  and 
after  acquiring  some  knowledge  of  the  Latin  languao-e, 
was  put  under  the  care  of  Francis  Philelphus,  an  eminent 
teacher  at  Sienna,  who  at  the  end  of  two  years  declared 
he  was  his  best  scholar.  Dati,  however,  at  this  time  suf- 
fered not  a  little  from  the  ridicule  of  his  schoolfellow.s, 
owing  to  a  hesitation  in  his  speech,  which  he  is  said  to 
have  cured  by  the  means  which  Demosthenes  adopted,  that 
of  speaking  with  small  pebbles  in  his  mouth.  After 
finishing  his  classical  studies,  he  learned  Hebrew  of  some 
Jews,  arid  then  entered  on  a  course  of  philosophy,  juris- 
prudence, and  theology.  During  his  a])plication  to  these 
branches,  Odo  Anthou}-,  duke  of  Urbino,  from  the  very 
favourable  account  he  had  of  him,  invited  him  to  Urbino 
to  teach  the  belles  Icttres.     Dati   accordingly  set  out  for 

'  Rees's  Cyc!(ipa»ilia,  from  Miss  Seward's  Mi-moirs  of  Dr.  Darwin. 
2  Diet.  Hist,  ill  wliiul)  we  suspect  iheie  is  some  confusjou  iu  ascertaininj^  the 
works  of  these  dilfereut  artists.     Walpole's  Antcdotes, 


DAT  I.  291 

that  city  in  April  1442,  where  he  was  received  with  every 
mark  of  honour  and  friendship  by  the  duUe,  but   tliis  pro- 
sperity was  not  oF  long  duration.      fJe  had  not  enjoyed  it 
above  a  year  and  a  half,  when  the  duke,  whose  excesses 
and  tyranny  had  rendered  him  odious,   was  assassinated  in 
a  public  tumult,  witii  two-of  his  favourites  ;  and  Dati,  who 
was  iiated  by  the  populace  merely  because  he  was  respected 
by   the  duke,  was  obliged  to   take  refuge  for  his  life  in  a 
church,   while  the  mob  pillaged  his  house.     The  successor 
of  Odo,  prince  Frederick,  endeavoured  to  console  Dati  for 
this  misfortune,  and  offered  him  a  pension,  besides  recom- 
pense for  all  he  had  lost;  but  Dati  could  not  be  reconciled 
to   a  residence  so  liable  to  interruption,  and  in  1444  re- 
turned to  Sienna.     Here,  after  refusing  the  place  of  se- 
cretary of  the  briefs,  offered  to  him  by  pope  Nicholas  V.  he 
opened  a  school  for  rhetoric  and  the  classics,  and  acquired 
so  much  reputation,   that  the  cardinal  of  Sienna,   Francis 
Piccolomini,  formally  granted  him  permission  to  lecture  on 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  although  he  was  a  married  man  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  gave  him  a  similar  licence  to  teach  and 
lecture  on  any  subject,  not  only  in   his  college,  but  in  all 
public  places,  and  even  in  the  church,   where,  his  son  in- 
forms us,  he   once  preached  during   Lent.      He  was  also 
much    employed    in    pronouncuig    harangues  on    public 
occasions  in   Latin,  many  of  which  are  among  his  works. 
Nor  were  his  talents  confined   to   literature,   but  were  the 
means  of  advancinjj  him  to  the  first  offices   of  the  maois- 
tracy,  and  the  republic  of  Sienna  entrusted  him  wiih  the 
negociation  of  various  affairs  of  importance  at   Rome  and 
elsewhere.     In  1457  he  was  appointed  secretary  to  the  re- 
public, v/hich  he   held   for  two  years.     Towards  the  close 
of  his  life  he  laid  aside  the  study  of  profane  authors  for 
that  of  the   Scriptures  and  ecclesiastical   iiistorians.      He 
died   of  the  plague  at   Sienna,  April    G,   1478.     His  son 
Nicolas  collected  his  works  for  publication,   "  Augustini 
Dathi,  Senensis,  opera,"  of  which  there  are  two  editions, 
that  printed  at  Sienna,    1503,  fol.  and  an   inferior  in  cor- 
rectness, printed  at  Venice,   1516.     They  consist  of  trea-   - 
tises  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul  ;  letters;   three  books 
on  the  history  of  Sienna;  a  history  of  Piombino;   on  gram- 
mar, &c.  &c.  * 

>  Moreri.  —  Niceron,    vol.  XL.  —  Fabiic.  Med.   Lat.  —  Glemeut  Eibl.  Cu- 
■rieuse, 

V   2 


^9!^  DAT  I. 

DATI  (Charles),  professor  of  polite  literature  at  Flo- 
tence^  where  he  was  born,  became  famous,  as  well  for  his 
works  as  for  the  eulogies  which  many  writers  have  bestowed 
dn  him.  He  behaved  with  great  courtesy  to  all  learned 
travellers  who  went  to  Florence,  many  of  whom  expressed 
their  acknowledgment  of  it  in  their  writings^  but  of  his 
personal  history,  his  countr^^Tien  have  left  us  little  account. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  academy  della  Crusca,  and  irt 
that  quality  took  the  name  of  Smarrito,  and  became  one 
of  the  chief  ornaments  of  that  society.  He  made  a  pane- 
gyric upon  Lewis  XIV.  in  Italian,  and  published  it  at  Flo- 
rence in  1699  ;  the  French  translation  of  it  was  printed  at 
Rome  the  year  following.  That  monarch  gave  him  a  pen- 
sion of  an  hundred  pistoles,  with  a  liberal  invitation  to 
France,  which  however  he  declined.  He  had  already  pub- 
lished some  Italian  poettis  in  praise  of  Louis.  The  book 
entitled  "  Lettera  di  Timauro  Antiate  a  Filaleti,  della  vera 
storia  della  Cicloide,  e  della  famosissima  esperienza  dell* 
argento  vivo,"  and  printed  at  Florence  in  1663,  was  written 
by  him  ;  for  it  appears  from  the  26th  page  of  the  letter, 
that  the  pretended  Timauro  Antiate  is  no  other  than 
Charles  Daii.  In  this  work  he  endeavours  to  prove  that 
father  Mursennus  is  not  the  inventor  of  the  cycloid,  as  is 
said  in  the  history  of  it,  but  that  the  glory  of  that  inven- 
tion belongs  to  Galileo  ;  the  other,  that  Torricelli  was  in^ 
iiocent  of  plagiarism,  when  he  pretended  to  be  the  first 
who  explained  the  suspension  of  quicksilver  in  a  glass  tube 
by  the  pressure  of  the  air,  for  that  he  was  the  real  author 
of  this  supposition.  But  the  chief  work  to  which  our  Dati 
applied  himself,  was  the  "  Vite  dei  Pittori,"  which  he 
published  in  1667.  This,  which  was  to  have  embraced  the 
lives  of  all  the  ancient  painters,  contains  only  those  of 
Zeuxis,  Parrhasius,  Apeiles,  and  Protogenes.  He  pub- 
lished also  a  valuable  collection  of  eles^ant  and  useful  les- 
sons  for  writing  Italian,  entitled  "  Prose  Fiorentini."  ¥e\v 
men  had  studied  that  language  with  more  attention.  He 
died  in  1675,  greatly  lamented  for  his  personal,  as  well  as 
public  character.  An)ong  his  numerous  correspondents  we 
iind  the  name  of  our  illustrious  Milton.  There  is  a  recent 
and  much  improved  edition  of  his  "  Vite  dei  Pittori"  by 
Della  Valle,  published  at  Sienna,   1795,  4lo. ' 

»  Fabroni  Vifae  Italorutn  :  the  best  account  yet  given. — Niceron,  ro!,  XXIVn 
— Tiraboschi, — Clement  Bibl.  Curieuse, 


D  A  V  A  L.  293 

DAVAL  (Peter),  esq.  of  the  Middle  Temple,  a  bar- 
rister at  law,  afterwards  master  in  cljancery,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  Jan.  8,  I7C3,  accomptant-genc-ral  of 
that  court,  is  noticeable  as  having  translated  the  "  Memoirs 
of  cardinal  de  Rctz,"  which  were  printed  in  1723,  l2mo, 
with  a  dedication  to  Congreve,  who  encouraged  the  jiub- 
lication.  He  was  F.  K.  S.  and  an  able  niathen)atician.  la 
the  dispute  concerning  elliptical  arclies,  at  the  time  when 
Blackfriars  bridge  was  built,  application  was  made  by  the 
committee  for  his  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  his  answer 
may  be  seen  in  the  London  Magazine  for  March,  1760. 
'He  also  published  in  1761,  "  A  Vindication  of  the  New 
Calendar  Tables,  and  Rules  annexed  to  the  Act  for  re- 
gulating the  commencement  of  the  year,"   &c.  4to.' 

DAVENANT  (John),  bishop  of'Salisbury  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  was  born  in  Watling-street,  London, 
where  his  father  was  an  eminent  merchant,  but  originally- 
descended  from  the  ancient  family  of  the  Davenants  of 
Sible-Heningham,  in  Essex.  What  school  he  was  edu- 
cated in,  we  cannot  find.  But,  on  the  4th  of  Jul}',  1587, 
he  was  admitted  pensioner  of  Queen's  college,  in  Cam- 
bridge. He  regularly  took  his  degrees  in  arts  ;  that  of 
master  in  15^4.  A  fellowship  was  offered  him  about  the 
same  time;  but  his  father  would  not  permit  him  to  accept 
of  it,  on  account  of  his  plentiful  fortune  :  however,  alter 
his  father's  decease  he  accepted  of  one,  into  wh;cii  he  was 
admitted  September  2,  1597.  Being  thus  settled  in  the 
college,  he  distinguished  himself,  as  before,  by  his  learning 
and  other  excellent  qualifications.  In  1601  he  took  his 
degree  of  B.  D.  and  that  of  D.  D  in  1609.  This  same 
year  last-mentioned  he  was  elected  lady  Margaret's  pro- 
fessor, which  place  he  enjoyed  till  1621.  He  was  also  one 
of  her  preachers  in  1609  and  1612.  On  the  20th  of  Oc- 
tober 16i4,  he  was  admitted  master  of  his  coll.^ge,  and 
continued  in  that  station  till  April  20,  1622.  And  so  on- 
siderable  diil  he  become,  that  he  was  one  of  tliose  em  uent 
English  divines  sent  by  king  James  L  to  the  synod  ol  Dort, 
in  1618.  He  returned  to  England  in  May  1619,  after 
having  visited  the  principal  cities  in  the  Low  Count rics. 
Upon  the  death  of  his  brother-in-law,  Dr.  Robert  Town^ 
son,  he  was  nominated  bishop  of  Salisbury;  and  was  elected 
June    11,    1621,  confirmed   November    17   following,    au(i 

1  Preceding  edit. — and  Nichols's  Bowycr, 


294  D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T. 

eonsecrated  the  18th  of  the  same  month.     He  continued 
in  favour  during  the  remauider  of  king  James  the  First's 
reign  ;  but  in  Lent  1630-1,  he  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
the  court  for  nieddhng  (in  a  sermon  preached   before  the 
king  at  \\  hitehall)   with  the  predestinarian    controversy  ; 
*'  all  curious   search"    into  which   his  majesty  had   strictly 
enjoined  "  to  be  laid   aside."      In  a  letter  to    Dr.  Ward, 
bishop  Davenant  gives  the  following  account  of  this  un- 
pleasant affair.     As  soon  as  his   sermon  was  ended,  it  was 
signitied  to  him  that  his  majesty  was  much  displeased  that 
he  had  stirred    this  question,   wiiich  his  majesty  had  for- 
bidden  to  be  meddled  withal,  one  way  or  other  :  the  bi- 
shop's answer  was,   that  he  had  delivered  nothing  but  the 
received  doctrine  of  our  church,  established   in   the  17th 
article,  and  that  he  was  ready  to  justify  the  truth  of  what 
he  had   then  taught.     He  was  told,  the  doctrine  was  not 
gainsaid,   but  his  inajesty  had  given  command  these  ques- 
tions should  not  be  debated,  and  therefore  he  took  it  more 
offensively  that  any  should  be  so  bold  as  in  his  own  hearing 
to  break  his  royal  commands.     To  this  he  replied,  that  he 
never  understood  his  majesty  had   forbidden   the  handling 
of  any  doctrine  comprised  in  the  articles  of  our  church, 
but  only  raising  of  new  questions,  or  adding  of  new  sense 
thereunto,   which  he  had   not   done,  nor   ever  should   do. 
Two  days  after,  when  he  appeared  before  the  privy-coun- 
cil,  Dr.  Sam.  Harsnet,  archbishop  of  York,  made  a  speech 
nearly   half    an    hour  long,    aggravating   the   boldness    of 
bishop   Davenant's  offence,    and   shewing   many  inconve- 
niencies   that  it  was  likely  to   draw  after  it.     When   the 
archbishop   had   finished  his   speech,   the  bishop   desired, 
that  since  he  was  called   thither  as  an  offender,  he  might 
not  be  put  to  answer  a  long  speech  upon  the  sudden  ;  but 
that  his  grace  would  be  pleasetl    to  charge  him  point  by. 
point,  and  so  to  receive  his  answer  ;  for  he  did  not  yet  un- 
derstand wherein  he  had  broken  any  commandment  of  his 
majesty's,  which  was  taken  for  granted.     After  some  pause, 
the  archbishop  told  him  he  knew  well  enough   the  point 
which  was   urged   against   him,  namely,  the  breach  of  the 
king's  declaration.     Then  he  stood  upon  this  defence,  that 
the  doctrine  of  predestination,  which   he  taught,   was  not 
forbidden    by  the  declaration;    1st,   Because  in  the  decla- 
ration all  the  articles  are  estiiblished,  amongst  which,  the 
article  of  predestination  is  one.     2.  Because  all  ministers 
j).re  urged  to  subscribe  unto  the  truth  of  the  article,  and 


D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T.  295 

all  subjects  to  continue  in  tlie  profession  of  that  as  well  as 
of  the  rest.  U|jon  these  uiitl  such  hke  <5roui)ds,  he  ga- 
thered that  ii  couUl  noL  be  esteemed  amongst  forljidden, 
curious,  or  needless  doctrines  ;  and  here  he  desired  that 
out  of  any  clause  in  the  declaration  it  might  be  shewed 
him,  that  keeping  himself  within  the  bounds  of  the  article, 
he  had  tiansgressed  his  majesty's  conunand  ;  but  the  de- 
claration was  not  produced,  nor  any  particular  words  in  it; 
only  this  was  urged,  that  the  king's  will  was,  that  for  the 
peace  of  the  church  these  high  questions  should  be  for- 
borne. He  added,  that  he  was  sorry  he  understood  not 
his  majesty's  intention  ;  which  if  he  had  done  before,  he 
should  have  made  clioice  of  some  other  matter  to  treat  of, 
which  might  have  given  no  ollence  ;  and  that  for  the  time 
to  come,  he  should  conform  himself  as  readily  as  any  other 
to  his  majesty's  command  ;  whereupon  he  was  dismissed. 
At  his  departure  he  entreated  the  lortls  of  the  council  to 
let  his  majesty  understand  that  he  had  not  boldly,  or  wil- 
fully and  wittingly,  against  his  declaration,  meddled  with 
the  fore-named  point;  and  that  now,  understanding  fully 
his  majesty's  mind  and  intention,  he  should  humbly  yield 
obedience  thereunto.  But  although  he  was  dismissed  with- 
out farther  censure,  and  was  even  admitted  to  kiss  the  king's 
hand,  yet  he  was  never  afterwards  in  favour  at  court.  He 
died  of  a  consumption  April  20,  1641,  to  which  a  sense 
of  the  melancholy  event  approaching  did  not  a  little  con- 
tribute. Among  other  benefactions,  he  gave  to  Queen's- 
college,  in  Cambridge,  the  perpetual  advowsons  of  the 
rectories  of  Cheverel  Magna,  and  ^Newton  Tony,  in  Wilt- 
shire, and  a  rent-charge  of  ill.  \0s.  per  annum,  for  the 
founding  of  two  Bible-clerks,  and  buying  books  for  the 
library  in  tlie  same  college.  His  character  was  that  of  a  maa 
humble  and  hospitable;  painful  in  preaching  and  writing; 
and  behaving  in  every  station  with  exemplary  gravity  and 
moderation.  Hewas  a  man  of  great  learning,  and  an  eminent 
divine  ;  but  strictly  attaclied  to  Calvinism  in  the  article  of 
unconditionate  predestination,  &c.  VVMiilst  he  was  at  tiie 
synod  of  Dort,  he  inclined  to  the  doctrine  of  universal  re- 
demption ;  and  was  for  a  middle  way  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes, maintaining  the  certainty  of  the  salvation  ot  a 
certain  number  of  the  elect;  and  that  offers  of  pardon  were 
sent  not  only  to  all  that  should  believe  and  repent,  but  to 
all  that  heard  the  Gospel ;  that  grace  sufficient  to  convince 
and  persuade  the  impenitent  [so  as  to  lay   the  blame  of 


296  D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T. 

their  condemnation  upon  themselves)  went  along  with 
these  offers ;  that  the  redemption  of  Christ  and  his  merits 
were  applicable  to  these  ;  and  consequently  there  was  a 
possibility  of  their  salvation.  He  was  buried  in  Salisbury 
cathedral. 

He  published:  1.  A  Latin  Exposition  on  St.  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians.  *'  Expositio  Epistolae  D.  Pauli 
ad  Colossenses,"  fol.  The  third  edition  was  printed  at 
Cambridoe,  in  1639.  It  is  the  substance  of  lectures  read 
by  our  author  as  lady  Margaret  professor.  So  was  also  the 
followinc:.  2.  "  Praelectiones  de  duobus  in  Theolofjia 
controversis  capitibus  ;  de  Judice  Controversiarum,  primo; 
de  Justitia  habituali  &  actual;,  altero,"  Cantab.  1631,  fol. 
3,  In  1634  he  published  the  questions  which  he  had  dis- 
puted upon  in  the  schools,  49  in  number,  under  this  title  : 
*'  Determinationes  QuaestionumquarundaniTheologicarum, 
per  reverendissimum  virum  Joannem  Davenantium,"  &c. 
fol.  4.  The  last  thing  he  published,  was,  "  Animadver- 
sions upon  a  treatise  lately  published,  and  entitle^,  God's 
Love  to  Mankind,  manifested  by  disproving  his  absolute 
decree  for  their  damnation,"  Camb.  1641,  8vo.  This  trea- 
tise was  written  by  S.  Hoard.' 

DAVENANT  (Sir  William),  a  poet  and  dramatic 
writer  of  considerable  note,  was  the  son  of  John  Davenant, 
who  kept  the  Crown  tavern  or  inn  at  Oxford,  but  owing  to  an 
obscure  ins  nuation  in  Wood's  account  of  his  birth,  ithas  been 
supposed  that  he  was  the  natural  son  of  Shakspeare  ;  and 
to  render  this  story  probable,  Mrs.  Davenant  is  represented 
as  a  woman  of  beauty  and  gaiety,  and  a  particular  favou- 
rite of  Shakspeare,  who  was  accustomed  to  lodge  at  the 
Crown,  on  his  journies  between  Warwickshire  and  London. 
Modern  inquirers,  particularly  Mr.  Steevens,  are  inclined 
to  discredit  this  story,  which  indeed  seems  to  rest  upon  no 
very  sound  foundation.  Young  Davenant,  who  was  born 
Feb.  1605,  very  early  betrayed  a  poetical  bias,  and  one  of 
his  first  attempts,  when  he  was  only  ten  years  old,  was  an 
ode  in  remembrance  of  master  William  Shakspeare  :  this 
is  a  remarkable  production  for  one  so  young,  and  one  who 
lived,  not  only  to  see  Shakspeare  forgotten,  but  to  con- 
tribute, with  some  degree  of  activity,  to  that  instance  of 
depraved  taste.  Davenant  was  educated  at  the  grammar- 
school  of  All  Saints,  in  his  native  city,  under  Mr.  Edward 

>  JJiog.  Brit.— Fuller's  Worthies. 


D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T.  297 

Sylvester,  a  teacher  of  high  reputation.  In  1621,  the 
year  in  which  his  father  served  the  office  of  mayor,  he  en- 
tered of  Lincohi-collet^e,  but  being  encoiiraged  to  try  lji:j 
success  at  court,  he  appeared  there  as  page  to  Frances 
duchess  of  Kichinond,  a  lady  of  great  iniiuence  and  fasiiion. 
He  afterwards  resided  in  the  family  of  the  celebrated  sir 
Fulke  Greville,  lord  Brooke,  who  was  liimseif  a  poet  and 
a  patron  of  poets.  The  murder  of  this  nobleman  in  1628 
depriving  hint  of  what  assistance  he  might  expect  from  his 
friendship,  Davenant  had  recourse  to  the  stage,  on  which 
he  produced  Ids  first  dramatic  piece,  the  tragedy  of  Albo- 
vine,   king  of  the  Londiards. 

This  play  had  success  enough  to  procure  him  the  recom- 
mendation, if  uoiliing  more  substantial,  of  many  persons 
of  distinction,  and  of  the  wits  of  the  times  ;  and  with  such 
encouraa^ement  he  renewed  his  attendance  at  court,  addincr 
to  its  pleasures  by  his  dramatic  efforts,  and  not  sparingly 
to  tiie  mirth  of  his  brethren  the  satirists,  by  ttie  unfor- 
tunate issue  of  some  of  his  licentious  gallantries.  For 
several  years  his  plays  and  masks  were  acted  with  the 
greatest  applause,  and  his  character  as  a  poet  was  raised 
very  high  by  all  who  pretended  to  be  judges.  On  the 
death  of  Ben  Jonson,  in  1638,  the  queen  procured  for  him 
the  vacant  laurel,  which  is  said  to  liave  given  such  ofience 
to  Thomas  May,  his  rival,  as  to  induce  him  to  join  the 
disaffected  party,  and  to  become  the  advocate  and  histo- 
rian of  ti)e  republican  parliament.  In  1639,  Davenant  was 
appointed  "  Governor  of  the  king  and  queen's  company 
acting  at  the  Cockpit  in  Drury-lane,  during  the  lease  which 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Beeston,  alias  Hutcheson,  hath  or  doth 
hold  in  the  said  house."  When  tiie  civil  commotions  had 
for  some  time  subsisted,  the  peculiar  nature  of  them  re- 
quired that  public  amusements  shoidd  be  the  decided  ob- 
jects of  popular  resentment,  and  Davenant,  who  had 
administered  so  copiously  to  the  pleasures  of  the  court, 
was  very  soon  brought  under  suspicions  of  a  more  serious 
kind.  In  May  1641,  he  was  accused  before  the  parlia- 
ment, of  being  a  partner  with  niany  of  the  king's  friends, 
in  the  design  of  bringing  the  army  to  London  for  liis  ma- 
jesty's protection.  His  accomplices  effected  their  esca))e, 
but  Davenant  was  apprehended  at  Feversham,  and  sent  up 
to  London.  In  July  following  he  was  bailed,  but  on  a  se- 
cond attempt  to  withdraw  to  France,  was  taken  in  Kent. 
At  last,  however,  he  contrived  to   make  his  escape  witli-^ 


29S  B  A  V  E  N  A  N  T. 

out  farther  impediment,  and  remained  abroad  for  some 
time,  Th.'  mutive  of  his  figlit  appears  not  to  have  been 
cowardice,  but  an  unwillingness  to  sacritice  his  lile  to  po- 
pular lury,  while  there  was  any  prospect  of  liis  being  able 
to  devote  it  to  the  service  of  his  royal  niaster.  Accordingly, 
when  the  quLen  sent  over  a  considerable  quantity  of  military 
stores  for  the  nse  of  the  earl  of  Newcastle's  army,  Davenant 
resolutely  ventured  to  return  to  Kngland,  and  volunteered 
his  services  under  that  nobleman,  who  had  been  one  of  his 
patrons.  The  earl  made  him  lieutenant-general  of  his 
ordnance,  a  post  for  which,  if  he  was  not  previously  pre- 
pared, he  qualified  himself  with  so  much  skill  and  success, 
that  in  September  1643,  he  was  rewarded  with  the  honour 
of  knighthood  for  the  service  he  rendered  to  the  royal 
cause  at  the  siege  of  Gloucester,  Of  his  military  prowess, 
however,  we  have  no  farther  account,  nor  at  what  time  he 
found  it  necessary,  on  the  decline  of  the  king's  affairs,  to 
retire  again  into  i"  ranee  Here  he  was  received  into  the 
confidence  of  the  queen,  who  in  1646  employed  him  in 
one  of  her  importunate  and  ill-advised  negociations  with 
the  kins:,  who  was  then  at  Newcastle.  About  the  same 
time  Davenant  had  embraced  the  popish  religion,  a  step 
which  probably  recommended  him  to  the  queen,  but  which, 
when  known,  could  only  tend  to  increase  the  animosity  of 
the  republicans  against  the  court,  which  was  already  too 
closely  suspected  of  an  attachment  to  that  persuasion.  The 
object  of  his  negociation  was  to  persuade  the  king  to  save 
his  crown  by  sacrificing  the  church  ;  a  proposition  which 
his  majesty  rejected  witti  becoming  dignity  ;  and  this,  as 
Jord  Clarendon  observes,  "  evinced  an  honest  and  con- 
scientious principle  in  his  majesty's  mind,  which  elevated 
him  above  all  his  advisers."  The  queen's  advisers  in  the 
measure  were,  his  majesty  knew,  men  of  no  religious 
principle,  and  he  seems  to  have  resented  their  sending  an 
ambassador  of  no  more  consequence  than  the  manager  of 
a  play-house. 

During  our  poet's  residence  at  Paris,  where  he  took  up 
his  habitation  in  the  Louvre,  with  his  old  friend  lord 
Jermyn,  he  wrote  the  first  two  books  of  his  "  Gondibert," 
which  were  published  in  England,  but  without  exciting 
much  interest.  Soon  after  he  commenced  projector,  and 
hearing  that  vast  improvements  might  be  made  in  the 
loyal  colony  of  Virginia,  by  transporting  good  artificers, 
whom  France  could  at  that  tirae  spare,  he  embarked  with 


D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T.  299 

a  number  of  them,  at  one  of  the  ports  in  Normandy,     This 
humane  and  apparently  wise   scheme  ended  almost  imme- 
fUately  in  the  capiurc  of  his  vessel  on  the  French  coast,   by 
one  of  the  parliamentary  ships  of  war,   which  carried  him 
to  the  Isle  of  W  igiit,   where  he  was   imprisoned  at  Cowcs- 
castle.     After  endeavouring  to  reconcile  himself  to  this  un- 
fortunate and   perilous  situation,  he  resumed  his  pen,  and 
proceeded  with  his  "  Gondibei  t,"   but  being  in  continual 
dread  of  his  life,   he  made   hut  slow  progress.     His  fears, 
indeed,  were  not  without  foundation.     In  1650,  when  the 
parliament  had  triumj)hed  over  all  opposition,  he  was  or- 
dered to  be  tried  by  a  high  commission  court,  and  for  this 
purpose  was  removed  to  the  Tower  of  London.     His  bio- 
graphers are  not  agreed  as  to   the  means  by  which  he  was 
saved.      Some  impute  it  to  the  si)licitations  of  two  aldermen 
of  York,  to  whom  he  had  been  hospitable  when  they  were 
his   prisoners,  and   wliom   he  suffered   to  escape.     Others 
inform   us  that   Milton  interposed.     Both   accounts,  it  is 
hoped,   are  true,  and  it  is  certain   that  after   tlie  restora- 
tion, he  repaid  Milton's  interference  in  kind,  by  preserving 
him  from    the    resentment  of    the  court.      He   remained, 
however,  in  prison   for  two  years,    and   was   treated   with 
some  indulgence,  by  the  favour  of  the  lord-keeper,   Whit- 
locke,   whom  he  thanked  in  a  letter  written  with  peculiar 
e-legancc  of  style  and  compliment. 

By  degrees  he  obtained  complete  enlargement,  and  had 
nothinor  to  regret  btit  the  wreck  of  his  fortune.  In  this  di- 
lemma,  he  adopted  a  measure  which,  like  a  great  part  of 
his  conduct  throughout  life,  shews  him  to  have  been  a  man 
of  an  undaunted  and  unaccommodating  spnit,  fertde  in 
expedients,  and  possessed  of  no  common  resources  of  mind. 
Indeed,  of  all  schemes,  tliis  seemed  the  most  unlikely  to 
succeed,  and  even  the  most  dangerous  to  propose.  Yet, 
in  the  very  teeth  of  luitioiial  prejudices  or  principles,  and 
at  a  time  when  all  dramatic  entertainments  were  suspended, 
discouraged  by  the  prutectoral  court,  and  anathematized 
by  the  people,  he  conceived,  that  if  he  could  contrive  to 
open  a  theatre  of  some  kind,  it  would  be  sure  to  be  well 
filled.  Viewing  his  difBcnlties  with  great  precaution,  he 
proceeded  by  slow  steps,  and  an  apparent  reluctance  to 
revive  what  was  so  generally  obnoxious.  Having,  how- 
ever, obtained  the  countenance  of  lord  Whitlocke,  sir 
John  Maynard,  and  other  persons  of  rank^  he  ojiened  a 
theatre  in  Rutland-house,  Chart^rhouse-yard,  on  the  21st 


300  D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T. 

of  May,  1656,  and  performed  a  kind  of  non-descript  en- 
tertainments, as  they  were  called,  which  were  dramatic  in 
every  thing  but  the  names  and  form,  and  some  of  them 
were  called  operas.  When  he  found  these  relished  and 
tolerated,  he  proceeded  to  more  regular  pieces,  and  with 
such  advantages  in  style  and  manner,  as,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  historians  of  the  stage,  entitle  him  to  the  honour  of 
being  not  only  the  reviver,  but  the  improver  of  the  legiti- 
mate drama.  These  pieces  he  afterwards  revised,  and 
published  in  a  more  perfect  state,  and  they  now  form  the 
principal  part  of  his  printed  works,  although  modern  taste 
has  lon<i^  excluded  them  from  the  staore. 

On  the  restoration,  he  received  the  patent  of  a  play- 
house, under  the  title  of  the  Duke's  Company,  who  first 
performed  in  the  theatre  in  Portugal  row,  Lincoln's- inn- 
fields,  and  afterwards  in  that  in  Dorset-gardens*.  Here 
he  acted  his  former  plays,  and  such  new  ones  as  he  wrote 
after  this  period,  and  enjoyed  the  public  favour  until  his 
death,  April  7,  1668,  in  his  sixty-third  year.  He  was  in- 
terred with  considerable  ceremony,  two  days  after,  in 
Westminster-abbey,  near  the  place  where  the  remains  of 
May,  his  once  rival,  had  been  pompously  buried  b}'  the 
parliament,  but  were  ordered  to  be  removed.  On  his 
grave-stone  is  inscribed,  in  imitation  of  Ben.  Jonson's  short 
epitaph,  "  O  rare  sir  William  Davenant." 

The  life  of  sir  William  Davenant  occupies  an  important 
space  in  the  history  of  the  stage,  to  which  he  was  in  many 
respects  a  judicious  benefactor,  by  introducing  changes  of 
scenery  and  decorations  ;  but  he  assisted  in  banishing 
Shakspeare  to  make  way  for  dramas  that  are  now  into- 
lerable. He  appears  to  have  been,  in  his  capacity  of  ma- 
nager, as  in  every  part  of  life,  a  man  of  sound  and  origi- 
nal sense,  firm  in  his  enterprizcs,  and  intent  to  gratify  the 
taste  of  the  public,  with  little  advantage  to  himself,  as  he 
died  insolvent.  The  greater  part  of  his  works  was  pub- 
lished in  his  life-time,  in  4to,  but  they  were  collected  in 
1C73,  into  one  large  folio  volume,  dedicated  by  his  widow 
to  the  duke  of  Vork. 

As  a  poet,   his  fame  rests  chiefly  on  his   "  Gondibert," 
but  the  critics  have  never  been  afjreed  in  the  share  he  de- 

*  Tlie  roadev  who  is  curious  in  such  the  Stacp,  where  he  will  find  a  minute 
maitirs,  must  be  refeired  to  Dave-  detail  of  Davpnant's  various  grants,  !i- 
jiiini's  life  in  the  Biogrnphia  Uritan-  cenccs,  and  diisputes  with  his  rival  ma- 
pica,  and  to  Mr.  Malone's  History  of  nagers. 


D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T.  301 

rives  from  it.  The  reader  who  declines  to  judge  for  him- 
self, may  have  ample  satisfaction  in  the  opinions  of  the 
late  bishop  Hurd,  and  of  Dr.  Aikin,  as  detailed  in  the  con- 
clusion of  his  life  in  the  Biographia  Britannica.  It  will 
probably  be  found  on  an  unprejudiced  perusal  of  this  ori- 
ginal and  very  singular  poem,  that  the  opinions  of  Dr. 
Ailiin  and  Mr.  Headley  are  founded  on  those  principles 
of  taste  and  feeling  wl)ich  cannot  be  easily  opposed  ;  yet 
in  considering  the  objections  of  Dr.  Hurd,  allowance  is  to 
be  made  for  one  who  is  so  powerful  and  elegant  an  advo- 
cate for  the  authorized  qualities  of  the  Epic  species,  and 
for  arguments  which  if  they  do  not  aitach  closely  to  this 
poem,  may  yet  be  worthy  of  the  consideration  of  those 
whose  inventive  fancy  leads  them  principally  to  novelty  of 
manner,  and  who  are  apt  to  confound  the  arbitrary  caprices 
with  the  genuine  powers  of  a  poet.  His  miscellaneous  pieces 
are  of  very  unequal  merit.  Most  of  ihem  were  probably 
written  in  youth,  and  but  few  can  be  reprinted  with  the 
hope  of  satisfying  a  polished  taste.  Complimentary 
poetry,  so  much  the  fashion  in  his  times,  is  now  perused 
with  indifference,  if  not  disgust;  and  although  the  gratitude 
which  inspired  it  may  have  been  sincere,  it  is  not  Ijighly 
relished  by  the  honest  independence  which  belongs  to  the 
sons  of  the  muses.' 

DAVENANT  (Charles),  the  eldest  son  of  sir  William 
Davenant,  was  born  in  1656,  and  was  initiated  in  gram- 
mar-learninii  at  Cheame  in  Surrey.  Thouirh  he  had  the 
misfortune  to  lose  his  father  when  scarce  twelve  years  of 
age,  yet  care  was  taker)  to  send  him  to  Oxford  to  (inisb 
his  education,  where  he  became  a  commoner  of  Baliol  col- 
lege in  1671.  He  took  no  degree,  but  went  to  London, 
where,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  distinguished  himself 
by  a  dramatic  performance,  the  only  one  he  published, 
entitled,  *'  Circe,  a  tragedy,  acted  at  his  royal  highness 
the  duke  of  York's  theatre  with  great  applause."  This 
play  was  not  printed  till  two  years  after  it  was  acted  ;  upon 
which  occasion  Dryden  wrote  a  prologue,  and  the  earl  of 
Rochester  an  epilogue.  In  the  former,  there  was  an  apo- 
logy for  the  author's  youth  and  inexperience.  He  had  a 
considerable  share  in  the  theatre  in  right  of  his  father, 
which  probaldy  induced  him  to  turn  his  thoughts  so  early 
to   the  stage;  however,  he  was  not  long  detained   there 

1  Biog.  Brit. — Johnson  and  Chalmers's  Pgets,  1810. 


302  D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T. 

either  hy  that,  or  the  success  of  his  play,  but  applied  him* 
self  to  the  civil  law,  in  which,  it  is  said,  he  had  the  degree 
of  doctor  conferred  upon  hiai  by  the  university  of  Cann- 
bridge.  He  was  elected  to  represent  the  borough  of  St. 
Ives  in  Cornwall,  in  the  first  parliament  of  James  II.  which 
was  summoned  to  meet  in  May  1685  ;  and,  about  the  same 
time,  jointly  empowered,  with  the  master  of  the  revels,  to 
inspect  all  plays,  and  to  preserve  the  decorum  of  the  stage. 
He  was  also  appointed  a  commissioner  of  the  excise,  and 
continued  in  that  employment  for  near  six  years,  that  is, 
from  1683  to  1689:  however,  he  does  riOt  seem  to  have 
been  advanced  to  this  rank  before  he  had  gone  through 
some  lesser  employments.  In  1698  he  was  elected  for  the 
borough  of  Great  Bedwln,  as  he  was  again  in  1700.  He 
was  afterwards  api)ointed  inspector-general  of  the  exports 
and  imports;  and  this  employment  he  held  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  happened  Nov.  6,  171  K  Dr.  Davenant's 
thorough  acquauuance  with  the  laws  and  constitution  of 
the  kingdom,  joined  to  his  great  skill  in  figures,  and  his 
happiness  in  applying  that  skill  according  to  the  principles 
advanced  by  sir  William  Petty  in  his  Political  Arithmetic, 
enabled  him  to  enter  deeply  into  the  management  of  af- 
fairs, and  procured  him  great  success  as  a  writer  in  poli- 
tics; audit  is  remarkable,  that  though  he  was  advanced 
and  preferred  under  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II. 
yet  in  all  his  pieces  he  reasons  entirely  upon  revolution 
principles,  and  compliments  in  the  highest  manner  the  vir- 
tues and  abilities  of  the  prince  then  upon  the  throne. 

His  first  political  work  was,  "  An  Essay  upon  Ways  and 
Moans  of  supplying  the  War,"  1695.  In  this  treatise  he 
wrote  with  so  much  strength  and  perspicuity  upon  the  na- 
ture of  funds,  that  whatever  pieces  came  abroad  from  the 
author  of  the  Essay  on  Ways  and  Means,  were  sufficiently 
recommended  to  the  public  ;  and  this  was  the  method  he 
usually  took  to  distinguish  the  writings  he  afterwards  pub- 
lished. 2.  "An  Essay  on  the  East- India  Trade,"  1697. 
This  was  nothing  more  than  a  pamphlet,  written  in  form 
of  a  letter  to  the  marquis  of  Normandy,  afterwards  duke 
of  Buckinghamshire.  3.  "  Discourses  on  the  public  reve- 
nues, and  of  the  trade  of  England.  Part  1.  To  which  is 
added,  a  discourse  upon  improving  the  revenue  of  the 
state  of  Athens,  written  originally  in  Greek  by  Xenophon, 
and  now  made  English  from  the  original,  with  some  histo- 
rical notes  by  another  hand,"   1698.     This  other  hand  was 


D  A  V  E  N  A  N  T.  303 

Walter  Moyle,   esq.  who  addressed  his  discourse  to    Dr. 
Davenaut.     There   is  a    joassage  in    it  which   shews,  that 
there  were  some  thoughts  of  sending  over  our  author  in 
quality  ol  director-general  to  the  East- Indies;  and  is  also 
a  clear  testiinony  what  that  great  man's  notions  were,  in 
regard  to  the  iujportance  of  liis  writings.      It  is  this  :  "  The 
great  trade  to  iht;  East-Indies,  witli  some  few  regulations, 
might  be  established  upon   a  bottom  more   consistent  with 
the  manufactures  of  Enghmd  ;  but  in  all  appearance  this  is 
not  to  be  compased,  unless  some  public-spirited  man,  with 
a  masterly  genius,"   meaning  Dr.  Davenant   himsilf,   "  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  our  affairs  in  India.      And  though  we, 
who  are  his  friends,  are  loth  to  lose  him,  it  were  to  be  wished 
for  the  good  of  the  kingdom,  that  the  gentleman,  whom  com- 
mon lame  and  the  voice  of  the  world  have  pointed  out  as 
the  ablest  man  for  such  a  station,  would  employ  his  excel- 
lent indiimciit  and  talents  that  way,   in  the  execution  of  so 
noble  and  useful  a  desi2:u."     4.   "  Discourses  on  the  Pub* 
lie  Revenues,  and  on  the  Trade  of  England,   which  more 
immediately  treat  of  the   foreign   traffic  of  this   kingdom., 
Part  II."  1698.      5.  "  An  Essay    on    the   probable  Method 
of  making  the  people  gainers  in  the  Balance  of  Trade," 
1699.     6.  "  A  Discourse  upon   Grants  and  Resumptions  : 
shewing,    how  our  ancestors    have    proceeded   wiih   such 
ministers  as   have   procured   to   themselves   grants  of  the 
crown  revenue;  and  that  the  forfeited  estates  ought  to  be 
applied  to  the  payment  of  public  debts,"    1700,     7.  "  Es- 
says upon  the  Balance  of  Power ;  the  right  of  making  War, 
Peace,     Alliances ;    Universal    Monarchy.      To    which    is 
added,  an  Appendix,  containing  the  records  referred  to  in 
the  second   essay,"    1701.     It  was   in  this   book   that   our 
author  was  carried  away  by  his  zeal  to  treat  the  church,  or 
at  least  some  churchmen,  in  so  disrespectful  a  manner,   as 
to  draw  upon  himself  a  censure  from  one  of  the  houses  of 
convocation.      8.   "  A   picture  of  a   Modern  Whig,   in  two 
parts,"    1701.     There  is,  however,  nothing  but  general  re- 
port, founded  upon  the  likeness  of  style  and  other  circum- 
stantial evidence,  to  prove  that  this   bitter  pamphlet  fell 
from  the  pen  of  our  author  ;  and,   if  it  did,   he  must  be  al- 
lowed to  have  been   the  greatest  m  ister  of  invective  that 
ever  wrote   in  our  lansyuairc;  others  have  attributed   it  to 
Defoe.     9.  "  Essays  upon  Peace  at  Home  and  War  Abroad, 
in   two  parts,"    l70i.     This  is  the  first  piece  our  author 
published  after  the  lime  that  he  is  supposed  to  have  re- 


504  I)  A  V  £  N  A  N  T. 

conciled  himself  to  the  ministry ;  it  was  suspected  to  be 
written  at  the  desire  of  lord  Halifax,  and  was  dedicated  to 
the  queen.  It  drew  upon  him  the  resentment  of  that 
party,  by  whom  he  had  been  formerly  esteemed,  but  who 
now  bestowed  upon  him  as  ill  language,  or  rather  worse, 
than  he  had  received  from  his  former  opponents.  10,  *'  Re-' 
flections  upon  the  Constitution  and  Management  of  the 
Trade  to  Africa,  through  the  whole  course  and  progress 
thereof,  from  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  to  this 
time,"  &c.  1709,  fol.  in  3  parts.  11.  "A  Report  to  the 
honourable  the  Commissioners  for  putting  in  execution  the 
Act,  entitled,  an  Act  for  the  taking,  examining,  and  stat- 
ing the  Public  Accounts  of  the  Kingdom,  from  Charles 
Davenant,  LL.  D.  inspector-general  of  the  exports  and  im- 
ports," 1712,  part  I,  12.  *' A  Second  Report  to  the  Ho- 
nourable the  Commissioners,"  &c.  1712.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary to  observe,  that  several  of  the  above-recited  pieces 
were  attacked  in  the  warmest  manner,  at  the  time  they 
were  published ;  but  the  author  seems  to  have  satisfied 
himself  in  delivering  his  sentiments  and  opinions,  without 
shewing  any  further  concern  to  defend  and  support  them 
against  the  cavils  of  party  zeal  and  contention.  Most  of 
his  political  works  were  collected  and  revised  by  sir  Charles 
Whitworth,   1771,   in  5  vols.   8vo. 

*'  Davenant,"  says  sir  John  Sinclair,  "  is  certainly  a  most 
valuable  political  author;  and  considering  that  the  modern 
system  of  politics,  founded  on  a  spirit  of  commerce,  on 
public  credit,  on  paper  circulation,  and  on  skill  in  finance, 
was  then  in  a  manner  in  its  infancy,  he  undoubtedly  was  a 
writer  whose  proGrress  was  more  advanced  than  could  have 
been  expected  at  that  time.  It  appears  from  his  works, 
that  he  had  access  to  official  information,  from  which  he 
derived  many  advantages.  He  seems,  however,  to  have 
depended  too  much  upon  political  arithmetic,  or  the 
strength  of  figures,  v.hicli  ought  only  to  be  resorted  to 
when  the  fact  itself  cannot  be  ascertained,  being  only  a 
succedaneum  when  belter  evidence  cannot  be  procured. 
He  was  unfortunately,  ulso,  a  party  writer,  and  saw  every 
thing  in  the  manner  the  best  calculated  to  promote  the 
views  and  purposes  of  his  political  friends  at  the  time- 
F.very  thing  they  did  was  right,  whilst  every  action  of  their 
enemies  was  ill-intended  and  ruinous.  He  possessed  a 
very  considerable  command  of  language,  and  is  sometimes 


DA  V  E  N  A  N  T.  30.3 

too  prolix;  but  on  the  whole  there  are  certainly  very  few 
that  can  rival  him  as  a  political  author."' 

DAVENANT   (William),  younger  brother  to  the  for- 
mer, and  fourth  son  to   sir  William   Davenant,   was  edu- 
cated at  Magdalen  hall,  in  the  university  of  Oxford,  where 
he  took  the  tlcgree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  July  19,  1677.     He 
translated  into   English   from  the  French  a  book  entitled, 
*'  Animadversions  upon  the  famous  Greek  and  Latin  His- 
torians,"  written  by  the  celebrated  Mr.  la  Mothe  le  Vayer, 
tutor  to  the    French   king    Louis   XUL,    which    was   very 
well  received.      He    took    the    degree    of    master   of   arts 
July  5,  1680,  and  about  the  same  time  entering  into  holy 
orders,   was  presented  to  a  living  in  the  county  of  Surre}', 
by  his  patron    Robert  Wymondsole,   of  Putney,  esq.   with 
whom    he  travelled  into  France ;  and    in   the  summer   of 
1681,  as  he  was  diverting  himself  by  swimming  in  a  river 
near  Paris,  he  was  unfortunately  drowned  in  the  sight  of 
his  pupil,  to  the  great  regret  of  all  who  knew  him,  having 
added  to  great  natural  parts,  by  an  assiduous  application  to 
study,  as  much  sound  learning  and  true  knowledge  as  could 
be  expected  in  a  person  so  young.* 

DAVENPORT  (Christopher),  a  learned  Englishman, 
was  born  at  Coventry,  in  Warwickshire,  about  1598,  and 
educated  in    grammar-learning    at  a  school  in    that  city. 
He  was  sent  to  Merton-college  in  Oxford  at  fifteen  years 
of  age ;  where,  spending  two  years,  he,  upon  an  invita- 
tion from  some  Romish  priest,  afterwards  went  to  Dovva3^ 
He    remained    there   for    some  time ;  and   then    going    to 
Ypres,   he  entered  into  the  order  of  Franciscans  among  the 
Dutch  there,  in  1617.     After  several  removals  from  place 
to  place,  he  became  a  missionary  into  England,  where  he 
went  by  the  name  of  Franciscus  a  Sancta  Clara ;  and  at 
length  was  made  one  of  the  chaplains  to  Henrietta  Maria, 
the  royal  consort  of  Charles  I.     Here  he  exerted  himself 
to  promote   the  cause  of  popery,   by   gaining   disciples, 
raising   money  among   the    English   catholics  to  carry  on 
public  matters  abroad,  and  by  writing  books  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  religion  and  order.      He  was  very  eminent 
for  his    uncommon   learning,  being  excellently  versed  in 
school-divinity,  in   fathers  and  councils,  in    philosophers, 
and  in  ecclesiastical  and  profane  histories.     He  was.  Wood 

'  Biog.  Brit. — Ath,  Ox.  vol.  II. — Ccnsiira  Literaria,  vol.  I. 
2  Biog.  Brit. 

Vol.  XI.  X 


306  DAVENPORT. 

tells  us,  a  person  of  very  free  discourse,   while  bis  fellow- 
labourer   in    the  same   vineyard,    Hugh   Cressey,  was    re- 
served ;  of  a  lively  and  quick   aspect,  while  Cressey  was 
clouded  and  melancholy  :   all  which  accomplishments  made 
him   agreeable  to  protestants  as  well   as   papists.     Arch- 
bishop Laud,   it  seems,  had  some  knowledge  of  this  per- 
son ;  for,  in  the  seventh  article  of  his  impeachment,  it  is 
said,  that  *'  the  said  archbishop,   for  the  advancement  of 
popery  and  superstition  within  this   realm,  hath   wittingly 
and    willingly    received,    harboured,    and    relieved  divers 
popish    priests   and    Jesuits,    namely,    one    called    Sancta 
Clara,  alias  Davenport,  a  dangerous  person  and  Francis- 
can friar,   who   hath  written  a  popish  and  seditious  book, 
entitled,   <  Deus,  Natura,  Gratia,'  kc.  wherein  the  thirty- 
nine  articles  of  the  church  of  England,  established  by  act 
of  parliament,   are  much  traduced  and  scandalized  :   that 
the  said  archbishop  had  divers  conferences  witli  him,  while 
he  was  writing  the  said  book,"  &c.     To  which  article,  the 
archbishop  made  this  answer  :   "  I  never  saw  that  Francis- 
can friar,   Sancta  Clara,   in  my  life,  to  the  utmost  of  my 
memory,  above  four  times  or  five  at  most.     He  was  first 
brought  to  me  by   Dr.  LinJsell :  but  1  did  fear,  that   he 
would   never  expound  the  articles  so,  that  the  church  of 
P^nsrland  might  have  cause  to  thank  him  for  it.     He  never 
came  to  me  after,  till  he  was  almost  ready  to  prmt  another 
book,  to  prove  that  episcopacy  was  authorised  in  the  church 
by  divine  right;  and  this  was  after  these  unhappy  stirs  be- 
gan.    His  desire  was,  to  have  this  book  printed  here;  but 
at  his  several  addresses  to  me  for  this,   I  still  gave  him  this 
answer:  That  I  did  not  like  the  way  which  the  church  of 
Rome  went  concerning  episcopacy  ;  that  I  would   never 
consent,   that  any  such  book  from  the  pen  of  a  Romanist 
should  be  printed  here  ;   that  the  bishops  of  England  are 
very  well  able  to  defend  their  own  cause  and  calling,  with- 
out any  help  from  Rome,   and  would  do  so  when  they  saw 
cause  :  and  this  is  all  the  conference  I  ever  had  with  him." 
Davenport  at  this  time  a!)sconded,  and  spent  most  of  those 
years  of  trouble  in  obscurity,  sometimes  beyond  the  seas, 
sometimes   at    London,    sometimes    in    the   country,    and 
sometimes  at  Oxford.      After  the  restoration  of  Charles  H. 
when  the  marriage  was  celebrated  between  him  and  Cathe- 
rine of  Portugal,   Sancta  Clara  became  one  of  her  chap- 
lains; and  was  for  the  third  time  chosen  provincial   of  ids 
order  for  England,  where  he  died  May  31,  1680,  and  was 


DAVENPORT.  307 

buried  in  the  clmrch-yard  belonging  to  the  Savoy.  It  was 
his  desire,  man}'  years  before  bis  death,  to  retire  to  Ox- 
ford to  die,  purposely  that  his  bones  might  l^e  laid  in  St. 
Ebb's  church,  to  which  tlie  mansion  of  the  Franciscans  or 
grey-friars  sometime  joined,  and  in  which  several  of  the 
brethren  were  anciently  interred,  particularly  those  of  his 
old  friend  John  Day,  a  learned  friar  of  his  order,  who  was 
there  buried  in  165H.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works: 
1.  "  Paraphrastica  exposiiio  articuluruin  confessionis  An- 
glicae  :"  tliis  book  was,  we  know  not  why,  much  censured 
by  the  Jesuits,  who  would  fain  have  had  it  burnt;  but 
being- soon  after  licensed  at  Rome,  all  farther  rumour  about 
it  stopped.  2.  "  Deus,  Natnra,  Gratia  :  sive,  tractatus  de 
prsedestinatione,  de  meritis,"  &c.:  this  book  was  dedicated 
to  Charles  I. ;  and  Prynne  contends,  that  the  whole  scope  of 
it,  as  well  as  the  paraphrastical  exposition  of  the  articles, 
reprinted  at  the  end  of  it  in  1635,  was  to  reconcile  the 
king,  the  church,  and  the  articles  of  our  religion,  to  the 
church  of  Rome.  He  published  also  a  great  number  of 
other  works,  which  are  not  now  of  consequence  x^nough  tu 
be  mentioned.  * 

DAVENPORT  (John),  elder  brother  of  Christopher  just 
mentioned,  was  born  at  Coventry  in  1597,  and  sent  from 
thence  wiih  his  brother  to  Merton-college  in  1G13;  but 
while  Christopher  went  to  Doway,  and  became  a  catholic, 
John  went  to  London,  and  became  a  puritan.  He  was 
minister  of  St.  Stephen's  in  Coleman-street,  and  esteemed 
by  his  brethren  a  person  of  excellent  gifts  in  preaching, 
and  in  other  qualities  belonging  to  a  divine.  About  1630 
he  was  appointetl  one  of  the  feoffees  for  the  buying  in 
impropriations,  which  involved  hiin  in  a  dispute  with  arch- 
bishop Laud ;  but  that  project  miscarrying,  he  left  his 
pastoral  charge  about  1633,  under  pretence  of  opposition 
from  the  bishops,  and  went  to  Amsterdam.  Here,  endea- 
vouring to  be  a  minister  in  the  English  congregation,  and 
to  join  with  them  in  all  duties,  he  was  opposed  by  John 
Paget,  an  elder,  on  account  of  some  difference  between 
them  about  baptism  ;  upon  which  he  wrote,  in  his  own  def 
fence,  "  A  Letter  to  the  Dutch  Classis,  containing  a  just 
complaint  against  an  unjust  doer ;  wherein  is  declared  the 
miserable  slavery  and  bondage  that  the  English  church  at 

>  Ath.  Ox.  Yol.  II.— Dotid's  Cli.  Hist.—Moreri,— Foppeo  Bibl.   Be1g.-»NiSj»» 
JOB,  voL  XXIII.— AnU).  Wood's  Life. 

X  2 


308  DAVENPORT. 

Amsterdam  is  now  in,  by  reason  of  the  tyrannical  govern- 
ment and  corrupt  doctrine  of  Mr.  Joiin  Paget,  tiieir  mini- 
ster," Amst.  1634.  Two  or  three  more  pieces  relating  to 
this  controversy  were  published  by  him  afterwards ;  and 
such  were  his  parts  and  learning,  that  he  drew  away  from 
them  many  of  their  congregation,  to  whom  he  preached 
and  prayed  in  private  houses. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  rebelUon,  he  returned  into  Eng- 
land, according  to  Wood,  as  other  nonconformists  did, 
and  had  a  cure  bestowed  on  him  ;  but  Neal  says  he  came 
back  in  disguise,  which  is  most  probable,  as  this  happened 
about  1637,  when  the  power  of  the  church  was  yet  in 
force.  In  this  year  he  went  into  New-England,  and  be- 
came a  pastor  of  New-Haven  there.  He  afterwards  re- 
jiioved  from  thence  to  Boston  in  1668,  where  he  died 
March  15,  1670.  He  was  the  author  of,  a  "  Catechism 
containing  the  chief  heads  of  the  Christian  religion,"  which 
was  printed  at  London  in  1659;  several  sermons;  the 
power  of  congregational  churches  asserted  and  vindicated  ; 
and  of  an  exposition  of  the  Canticles,  which  has  never 
been  published.  Neal  agrees  that  his  notions  of  church- 
discipline  were  very  rigid,  and  that  he  was  a  millenarian, 
being  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind  of  the  thousand 
years'  personal  reign  of  Christ  upon  earth  ;  but  adds,  that 
notwithstanding  this  or  any  other  singular  notions  he  might 
entertain,  he  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  New  Eng- 
land ever  enjoyed.* 

DAVID  (St.),  the  patron  of  Wales,  was  the  son  of 
Xantus  or  Santus,  prince  of  Ceretica,  now  Cardiganshire, 
and  born  about  the  close  of  the  fifth  century.  Being 
brought  up  to  the  church,  he  was  ordained  priest;  he  then 
retired  to  the  Isle  of  Wioht,  and  for  some  time  lived  in 
the  accustomed  solitude  of  those  times.  PVom  this  he  at 
length  emerged,  and  went  into  Wales,  where  he  preached 
to  the  Britons.  He  built  a  chapel  at  Glastonbury,  and 
founded  twelve  monasteries,  the  principal  of  which  was  in 
the  vale  of  Ross,  near  Mencvia.  Of  this  monastery  fre- 
quent mention  is  made  in  the  acts  of  the  Irish  saints.  The 
rules  he  established  for  his  monasteries  were,  as  usual; 
rigid,  but  not  so  injudicious  or  absurd  as  some  of  the  early 
monastic  statutes.  One  of  his  penances  was  manual  la- 
bour in  agriculture,  and,  for  some  time  at  least,  there  was 

'    *th.  Oy.  vol.  II.  — Neal's  History  of  New  Englaml,  vol  II. 


DAVID.  309 

no  accumulation  of  worldly  goods,  for  whoever  was  admit- 
ted as  a  member,  was  enjoined  to  leave  every  thing  of  iliat 
kind  behind  him.  When  the  synod  of  Brevy  in  Cardigan- 
shire was  held  in  the  year  5 1  'J,  8t.  David  was  invited  to  it,  and 
was  one  of  its  chief  champions  against  Pelagianism.  At  tiie 
close  of  this  synod,  St.  Dubricius,  archbishop  of  Caerleon 
upon  Usk,  resigned  his  see  to  St.  David,  who  translated 
it  to  Menevia,  now  called  St.  David's.  Here  he  died  about 
the  year  544  in  a  very  advanced  age.  He  is  praised  by  his 
biographers  for  his  eloquence  and  powers  in  conversion, 
and  has,  accordinsf  to  them,  been  in  all  succeedin<r  aires 
the  glory  of  the  British  church.  He  wrote  the  "  Decrees 
of  the  Synod  of  Victoria,"  which  he  called  soon  after  he 
became  bishop  ;  the  "  Rules  of  his  Monasteries  ;"  some 
"  Homilies,"  and  "  Letters  to  king  Arthur,"  all  of  which 
have  perished.' 

DAVID,  the  greatest  philosopher  that  ever  Armenia 
produced,  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century, 
and  acquired  at  Athens  the  knowledge  of  the  language  and 
the  philosophy  of  the  Greeks.  He  translated  such  of  their 
books  as  he  thought  the  most  useful.  Far  from  supersti- 
tiously  following  Plato  and  Aristotle,  like  our  European 
doctors,  he  selected  from  both  the  one  and  the  other  what 
seemed  just  and  judicious  to  him,  at  the  same  time  detect- 
ing and  refuting  their  errors.  His  writings  were  preserved 
in  the  French  king's  library,  and  probably  are  now  in  the 
imperial.  They  are  methodical  and  solid.  His  st}le  is 
flowing,  accurate,  and  clear. ^ 

DAVID  (George),  a  most  extraordinary  fanatic,  was 
the  son  of  a  waterman  of  Ghent,  and  educated  a  srlazier, 
or,  as  some  say,  a  glass- painter.  He  began  about  1525 
to  preach  that  he  was  the  true  Messiah,  the  third  David, 
nephew  of  God,  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  spirit. 
**  The  heavens,"  he  said,  "  being  empty,  he  was  sent  to 
adopt  children  worthy  of  that  kingdom  ;  and  to  restore 
Israel,  not  by  death,  as  Christ,  but  by  grace."  With  the 
Sadducees,  he  denied  eternal  life,  the  resurrection,  and 
the  last  judgment :  with  the  Adamites,  he  was  against  mar- 
riage, and  for  a  community  of  women  :  and  with  the  follow- 
ers of  Manes,  he  thought  that  the  body  only,  and  not  the 
soul,  could  be  defiled  with  sin.     According  to  him,  the 

1  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints. — Wharton's  Anglia  Sacra.— Tanner. 

2  Diet.  Hiet.— Moreri. 


310  15  A  V  I  D. 

Sbuls  of  unbelievers  ought  to  be  saved,  and  those  of  the 
apostles  damned.  Lastly,  he  affirmed  it  folly  to  believe 
that  there  was  any  sin  in  denying  Jesus  Christ ;  and  ridi- 
culed the  martyrs  for  preferring  death  to  apostacy.  A 
prosecution  being  commenced  against  him  and  his  follow- 
ers, he  fled  first  to  fViesland,  and  from  thence  to  Basil, 
where  he  lurked  under  the  name  of  John  Brnck.  He  died 
in  that  city  in  1556,  promising  to  his  disciples,  that  he 
shouhl  rise  again  in  three  days ;  which,  as  it  happened, 
was  not  altogether  false  ;  for  the  magistrates  of  Basil,  un- 
derstanding at  length  who  he  was,  about  that  time,  dug 
up  his  corpse,  wliich,  together  with  his  writings,  they 
caused  to  be  burned  by  the  common  executioner.  This 
George  David  had  many  followers  in  his  life-time,  and  it 
is  even  said  that  there  are  still  some  remains  of  them  in 
Holstein,  Friesland,  and  other  countries,  whose  temper 
6,nd  conduct  seem  to  discredit  the  exaggerated  account 
which  some  writers  have  given  of  their  founder.' 

DAVID  DE  DINANT^     See  DINANT. 

DAVIES  (John),  D.  D,  an  eminent  writer  and  anti- 
quary, was  born  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century 
in  Denbighshire,  and  educated  by  William  Morgan,  after- 
wards bishop  of  St.  Asaph.  He  was  admitted  a  student  of 
Jesus-college,  Oxford,  in  1589,  where  he  took  one  degree 
in  arts,  and  afterwards  became  a  member  of  Lincoln-col- 
lege in  the  same  university.  He  was  rector  of  Malloyd,  or 
Maynlloyd  in  Merionethshire,  and  afterwards  a  canon  of 
St.  vVsaph,  to  which  dignity  he  was  promoted  by  Dr.  Parry, 
then  bishop,  whose  chaplain  he  was.  He  commenced 
doctor  in  1616,  and  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  university, 
says  Wood,  as  well  versed  in  the  history  and  antiquities  of 
his  own  nation,  and  in  the  Greek  and  Hehrew  languages  ; 
a  most  exact  critic,  and  indefatigable  searcher  into  ancient 
writings,  and  well  acquainted  with  curious  and  rare  au- 
thors. The  time  of  his  death  is  not  known.  His  works 
are,  1.  "  Antiquae  Linguse  BritannicoC  nunc  communiter 
dictic  Cambro-BritanniciE,  a  suis  Cymroecae  vel  Camhricte, 
ab  aliis  Wailicce  rudimenta,"  &c.  1621,  8vo.  2.  "  Dic- 
tionarinn)  Latino-Britannicum,"  1632,  folio.  With  this  is 
])rinied,  "  Dictionarium  Latino-Britannicum,"  which  was 
begun  and  greatly  advanced  by  Thomas  Williams,  physi- 
cian, before  1600.     It  was  afterwards  completed  and  pub- 

•  Moreri.'— Mosbeim. 


I)  A  V  I  E  S.  311 

lished  by  Dr.  Davies,  3.  "  Adagia  Britannica,  autliorum 
Biitannicorum  notniiia,  &.  qiiando  Horuerunt,"  1632,  printed 
at  the  end  of  the  dictionary  before  mentioned,  4.  "  Ada- 
giorum  Britanniconnn  specimen,"  M.S.  Bibl.  Bodl.  He 
also  assisted  W.  Morgan,  bishop  of  Landaff,  and  Richard 
Parry,  bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  in  translating  the  Bible  into 
Welsh,  in  that  correct  edition  which  came  out  in  1620, 
He  also  translated  into  the  same  lanonase  (which  he  had 
studied  at  vacant  honrs  tor  30  years)  the  book  uf  '•  lieso- 
lution,"   written  by  Robert  Parsons,  a  Jesuit. ' 

DAVIES  (John),  an  eminent  and  learned  critic, 
was  the  son  of  a  n)erchant  in  London,  and  born  there 
April  22,  1679.  Alter  being  educated  in  classical  learning 
at  the  Charterhouse-school,  lie  was,  June  8,  1695,  admit- 
ted of  Queen's-college  in  Cand)ridge,  wliere  he  tool;  the 
degree  of  B.  A.  in  1698.  (3n  July  7,  1701,  he  was  chosen 
fellow  of  his  colleoe  ;  and  the  year  followiufj  took  the  de- 
grce  of  M.  A,  and  was  proctor  in  1709.  In  17  11,  having 
distinguished  himself  by  several  learned  publications  here- 
after mentioned,  he  was  collated  by  Moore,  bishop  of  Ely, 
to  the  rectory  of  Fen-Ditton  near  Cambridge,  and  to  a 
prebend  in  the  church  of  Ely  ;  taking  the  same  year  the 
degree  of  LL.  D.  Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  James,  or,  as 
Bentham  says.  Dr.  Humphrey  Gower,  he  was,  on  March 
23,  1716-17,  chosen  master  of  Queen's-college;  and 
created  D.  D.  the  same  year,  when  George  I.  was  at  Cam- 
bridge. He  died  March  7,  1731-2,  aged  53,  and  was  bu- 
ried in  the  chapel  of  his  college,  where  a  flat  marble  stone 
was  laid  over  his  grave,  with  a  jjlain  inscription  at  his  own 
desire.  His  mother,  who  was  dauuhter  of  sir  John  Tur- 
ton,  knt.  is  said  to  have  been  living  in  1743. 

This  learned  man  was  not,  as  far  as  we  can  find,  the  author 
of  any  original  works,  but  only  employed  himself  in  publish- 
ing some  correct  editions  of  Greek  and  Latin  authors  of  an- 
tiquity. In  1703  he  published  in  octavo,  1.  "  Maxinii  Tyrii 
dissertationes,  Gr.  &  Lat.  ex  interpretatione  Heinsii,"  &c. 
2.  "  C.  Julii  Ciesaris,  et  A.  Hirtii  qua)  extant  omnia,"  Cant. 
1706,  4to;  1727;  the  latter  the  best  edition.  3.  "  AL  Mi- 
nucii  Felicis  Octavius,"  Cant.  1707,  8vo.  This  was  printed 
again  in  171 2,  8vo,  with  the  notes  greatly  enlarged  and  cor- 
rected, and  the  addition  of  Commodianus,  a  writer  of  the 
Cyprianic  age.     4.  He  then  projected  new  and  beautiful 

1  Ath,  Ox.  rd.  I.— LeUcrs  fiom  Gent.  Mag.  vol.  LX.  p.  23. 


312  D  A  V  I  E  S. 

editions  of  Cicero's  philosophical  pieces,  by  way  of  sup- 
plement to  what  GrtBvius  had  published  of  that  author; 
and  accordingly  published  in  I70y,  his  "  Tusculanarum 
disputationum,  libri  quinque,"  8vo.  This  edition,  and 
that  of  1738,  which  is  the  fourth,  have  at  the  end  the 
emendations  of  his  intimate  friend  Dr.  Bentley.  The  other 
pieces  were  published  by  our  author  in  the  following  order  : 
*•  De  Natura  Deorum,"  1718.  "  De  divinatione  &  de 
fato,"  1721.  "Academica,"  1725.  "  De  legibus,"  1727. 
*'  De  finibus  bonorum  &  malorum,"  1728.  These  several 
pieces  of  Tully  were  printed  in  8vo,  in  a  handsome  man- 
lier, were  very  favourably  received,  and  have  passed,  most 
of  them,  through  several  editions.  He  had  also  gone  as 
far  as  the  middle  of  the  third  book  of  Cicero's  Offices ; 
but  being  prevented  by  death  from  finishing  it,  he  recom- 
ihended  it  in  his  will  to  the  care  of  Dr.  Mead,  who  put  it 
into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Thomas  Bentley,  that  he  migiit  fit 
and  prepare  it  for  the  press.  But  the  house  where  Dr. 
Bentley  lodged,  which  was  in  the  Strand,  London,  being 
set  on  fire  through  his  carelessness,  as  it  is  said,  by  read- 
inc:  after  he  was  in  bed,  Davies's  notes  and  emendations 
perished  in  the  flames.  5.  Another  undertaking  published 
by  our  learned  author,  which  we  have  not  already  men- 
tioned, was,  ''  Lactantii  Firmiani  epitome  divinarum  in- 
stitutionum,"  Cantab.  1718,  8vo. 

His  labours  have  been  well  received  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  Abbe  d'Olivet  in  particular,  the  French  transla- 
tor of  "  Cicero  de  Natura  Deorum,"  gives  him  just  com- 
mendations for  his  beautiful  edition  of  that  book  ;  but 
seems  afterwards  to  have  altered  his  opinion,  as  appears 
from  the  harsh  judgment  he  passed  upon  him,  in  the  pre- 
face to  his  new  edition  of  Cicero's  works.* 

DAVIES  (Sir  John),  a  poet  and  statesman,  was  the 
third  son  of  John  Davies,  of  Tisbury,  in  Wiltshire,  not  a 
tanner,  as  Anthony  Wood  asserts,  but  a  gentleman,  for- 
merly of  New  Inn,  and  afterwards  a  practitioner  of  law  in 
his  native  place.  His  mother  was  Mary,  the  daughter  of 
Mr,  Bennett,  of  Pitt-house  in  the  same  county.  When 
not  fifteen  years  of  age  he  was  sent  to  Oxford,  in  Michael- 
mas term  1585,  where  he  was  admitted  a  commoner  of 
Queen's  college,  and  prosecuted  his  studies  with  perse- 
verance and  success.     About  the  beginning   of   1588  he 

•  Biog.  Brit. — Cole's  MS  Athenae  in  Brit.  Mu».— Nichols's  Bowyer. 


D  A  V  I  E  S.  313 

removed  to  the  Middle  Temple,  but  returned  to  Oxford 
in  1590,  anl  took  ttie  degree  of  B.  A.  At  the  Temj)le, 
wliile  he  did  not  neglect  the  study  of  the  law,  he  rendered 
himself  obnoxious  to  tlie  discipline  of  the  place  by  various 
youthful  irregularities,  and  after  being  fined,  was  at  last 
removed  from  commons.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  was 
called  to  the  bar  in  1595,  but  was  again  so  indiscreet  as  to 
forfeit  his  privileges  by  a  quarrel  with  Mr.  Richard  Martin, 
whom  he  beat  in  the  Temple  hull.  For  this  offence  he 
was  in  Feb.  1597-8  expelled  by  the  unanimous  sentence  of 
the  society.  Martin  was,  like  himself,  a  wit  and  a  poet, 
and  had  once  been  expelled  for  improper  behaviour.  Both, 
however,  outlived  their  follies,  and  rose  to  considerable 
eminence  in  their  profession.  Martin  became  reader  of 
the  society,  recorder  of  London,  and  member  of  parliament, 
and  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  Selden,  Ben  Jonson,  and  other 
men  of  learning  and  genius,  who  lamented  his  premature 
death  in  1618, 

After  this  affair  Davies  returned  to  Oxford,  where  he 
is  supposed  to  have  written  his  poem  on  the  "  Immortality 
of  the  Soul,"  There  is  some  mistake  among  his  biogra- 
phers  as  to  the  time  of  its  publication,  or  even  of  its  be- 
ing written.  If,  as  they  all  say,  he  wrote  it  at  Oxford  in 
1598,  and  published  it  in  1599,  how  is  either  of  these 
facts  to  be  reconciled  with  the  dedication  to  queen  P^liza- 
beth,  which  is  dated  July  11,  1592?  Mr,  Park,  whose 
accuracy  and  zeal  for  literary  history  induced  him  to  put 
this  question  to  the  readers  of  the  Biographia  Britannica, 
has  not  attempted  a  solution,  and  it  must  remain  in  this 
state,  unless  an  edition  of  the  "  Nosce  Teipsum"  can  be 
found  of  a  prior  date,  or  any  ground  for  supposing  that 
the  date  of  the  dedication  was  a  typographical  error.  This 
poem,  however,  procured  to  him,  as  he  deserved,  a  very 
high  distinction  among  the  writers  of  his  time,  whom,  in 
harmony  ^f  versification,  he  has  far  surpassed.  Whether 
Elizabeth  bestowed  any  marks  of  her  favour  does  not  ap- 
pear. He  knew,  however,  her  love  of  fiattery,  and  wrote 
twenty-six  acrostic  hymns  on  the  words  "  Elizabetha  re- 
gina,"  which  are  certainly  the  best  of  their  kind. 

It  is  probable  that  these  complimentary  trifies  made  him 
known  to  the  courtiers,  for  when  the  queen  was  to  be  en- 
tertained by  Mr.  Secretary  Cecil,  our  poet,  by  desire, 
contributed  his  share  in  "  A  Conference  between  a  gen- 
tleman usher  and  a  post,"  a  dramatic  entertainment,  which 


5li  D  A  V  I  E  S. 

<Joes  not  add  much  to  his  reputation.  A  copy  exists  in  the 
British  Museum,  Harl.  MS.  No.  286.  His  progress  from 
being  the  terrae  filius  of  a  court  to  a  seat  in  parUament  is 
not  known,  but  we  find  that  he  was  chosen  a  member  in 
the  last  parliament  of  Elizabeth,  which  met  on  the  27th  of 
October  1601.  He  appears  to  have  commenced  his  po- 
litical career  with  spirit  and  intelligence,  by  opposing 
monopolies,  which  were  at  that  time  too  frequently  granted, 
and  strenuously  supporting  the  privileges  of  the  house,  for 
which  the  queen  had  not  the  greatest  respect. 

In  consequence  of  the  figure  he  now  made,  and  after 
suitable  apologies  to  the  judges,  he  was  restored  in  Trinity 
term  1601  to  his  former  rank  in  the  Temple.  Lord  chan- 
cellor Ellesmere  appears  to  have  stood  his  friend  on  this 
occasion,  and  Davies  continued  to  advance  in  his  profes- 
sion, until  the  accession  of  James  I.  opened  new  prospects. 
Having  gone  with  lord  Hunsdon  to  Scotland  to  congra- 
tulate the  new  king,  the  latter,  finding  that  he  was  the 
author  of  "  Nosce  Teipsum,"  graciously  embraced  him, 
as  a  mark  of  his  friendship,  and  certainly  no  inconsiderable 
proof  of  his  taste. 

In  I60'i  he  was  sent  as  solicitor-general  to  Ireland,  and 
immediately  rose  to  be  attorney-general.  Being  after- 
wards appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  assize,  he  conducted 
himself  with  so  much  prudence  and  humanity  on  the 
circuits  as  greatly  to  contribute  to  allay  the  ferments  which 
existed  in  that  country,  and  received  the  praises  of  his 
superiors,  "  as  a  painful  and  well-deserving  servant  of  his 
majesty."  In  Trinity  term  1606  he  was  called  to  the  de- 
gree of  serjeant-at-law,  and  received  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood on  the  nth  of  February  1607.  His  biographer  at- 
tributes these  promotions  to  the  patronage  of  lord  Elles- 
mere and  the  earl  of  Salisbury,  with  whom  he  corre- 
sponded, and  to  whom  he  sent  a  very  interesting  account  of 
a  circuit  he  performed  with  the  lord-deputy  in  July  1607. 
Such  was  Ireland  then,  that  a  guard  of  "  six  or  seven  score 
foot  and  fifty  or  three  score  horse"  was  thought  a  neces- 
sary protection  against  a  peasantry  recovering  from  their 
wildness. 

In  1608  he  was  sent  to  Enoland  with  the  chief  iustice 
in  order  to  represent  to  king  James  the  effects  which  the 
establishment  of  public  peace,  and  these  progresses  of  the 
law,  had  produced  since  the  commencement  of  his  majesty's 
reign.     His  recejition  on  such  an  occasion  could  not  but 


I)  A  V  I  E  S.  315 

tje  favourable.     As  his  residence  in  Ireland  adoriled  him 
many  opportunities  to  study  the  history  and  genius  of  that 
people,   he  published  the   result  of  his  inquiries  in  1612 
under  the  title  of  <♦  A  Discovery  of  the  true  causes  why 
Ireland   was  never  entirely   subdued   till  the  beginning  of 
his  majesty's  reign."     This  has  been  reprinted  four  times, 
and  has  always  been  considered  as  a  most  valuable  docu- 
ment for  political  inquirers.     Soon  after  the  publication  of 
it  he  was  appointed  the  king's  scrjeant,  and  a   parliament 
having  been  called   in  Ireland    in  the   same  year,   he  was 
elected  representative  for  the  county  of  Fermanagh,  the 
first    that   county  had   ever   chosen ;  and    after   a   violent 
struggle  between  the  Roman  catholic  and  protestant  mem- 
bers,  he  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  house  of  commons.     In 
1614  he  interested  himself  in  the  restoration  of  the  society 
of  antiquaries,  which  had  been  institued  in  1590,   but  af- 
terwards discontinued,  and  was  now  again  attempted  to  be 
revived  by  sir  James   Ley;  at  this  period  it  could  enume- 
rate among  its  members  the  names  of  Cotton,   Hackwell, 
Camden,  Stow,  Spelman,  and  Whitlock.      In  1715  he  pub- 
lished "  Reports  of  Cases  adjudged   in  the  king's  courts 
in   Ireland."     These,   says  his  biographer,  were  the  first 
reports  of  Irtsh  judgments  which    had   ever  been   made 
public  during  the  four  hundred  years  that  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land had  existed  in  that  kingdom.     To  the  Reports  is  an- 
nexed a  preface,  addressed   to  lord   chancellor  Ellesmere, 
"  which  vies  with  Coke  in  solidity  and  learning,  and  equals 
Blackstone  in  classical  illustration  and  elegant  language." 

In  1616  he  retired  from  Ireland,  and  found  that  a 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  English  administration.  He 
continued,  however,  as  king's  serjeant,  in  the  practice  of 
the  law,  and  was  often  associated  as  one  of  the  judges  of 
assize.  Some  of  his  charges  on  the  circuits  are  still  ex- 
tant in  the  British  Museum.  In  1620  we  find  him  silting 
in  the  English  parliament  for  Newcastle-under-Line,  where 
he  distinguished  himself  chiefly  in  debates  on  the  affairs  of 
Ireland,  maintaining,  against  Coke  and  other  very  high 
authorities,  that  England  cannot  make  laws  to  bind  Ire- 
land, which  had  an  independent  parliament.  Amidst  these 
employments  he  found  leisure  to  republish  his  "  Nosce 
Teipsum"  in  1622,  along  with  his  "  Acrostics"  and  "  Or- 
chestra," a  poem  on  the  antiquity  and  excellency  of  danc- 
ing, dedicated  to  Charles  prince  of  Wales,  originally  ptib- 
iished  in    t5i>C,     But   this  first  edition   has  escaped  the 


S16  D  A  V  I  E  S. 

researches  of  modern  collectors,  and  the  poem,  as  we  now 
find  it,  is  imperfect.  Wuether  i:  was  not  so  in  the  first 
edition  may  be  doubted.  His  biographer  thinks  it  was 
there  perfect,  but  why  afterwards  mutilated  cannot  be 
ascertained. 

Sir  John  Davies  lived  four  years  after  this  publication, 
employed,  probably,  io  the  duties  of  his  profession ;  and 
at  the  time  when  higrher  honours  were  within  his  reach,  he 
died  suddenly  of  an  apoplexy  in  the  night  of  the  7ih  of 
December  1626,  in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He 
had  previously  supped  with  the  lord  keeper  Coventry,  who 
gave  him  assurances  of  being  chief  justice  of  England. 
He  v\as  buried  in  St.  Martm's  Church  in  the  Fields,  where 
a  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory,  which  appears  to 
have  been  destroyed  when  the  old  church  was  pulled  down. 

He  married,  while  in  Ireland,  Eleanor,  the  third  daughter 
of  lord  Audiev,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  who  was  an 
idiot  and  died  young,  and  a  daughter,  Lucy,  who  was 
married  to  Ferdinando  lord  Hastings,  afterwards  earl  of 
Huntingdon.  Sir  John's  lady  appears  to  have  been  an 
enthusiast ;  a  volume  of  her  prophecies  was  published  in 
1649,  4 to.  Anthony  Wood  informs  us  that  she  foretold 
the  death  of  her  husband,  who  turned  the  matter  off  with 
a  jest.  She  was  harshly  treated  during  the  republic  for 
her  officious  prophecies,  and  is  said  to  have  been  confined 
several  years  in  Bethlem  hospital,  and  in  the  Tower  of 
London,  where  she  suffered  all  the  rigour  that  could  be 
intlicted  by  those  who  would  tolerate  no  impostures  but 
their  own.  She  died  in  16.52,  and  was  interred  near  her 
husband  in  St.  Martin's  church.  The  late  earl  of  Hunting- 
don intormed  lord  Mountmorres  the  historian  of  the  Irish 
parliament,  t}:at  sir  John  Davies  did  not  appear  to  have 
acquired  any  landed  property  in  Ireland  from  his  great 
employments.  The  character  ot  sir  John  Davies  as  a  law- 
yer, is  that  of  great  ability  and  learning.  As  a  politician 
he  stands  unimpeached  of  corruption  or  servility,  and  his 
*' Tracts"  are  valued  as  the  re5'-:!t  of  profound  knowledge 
and  investigation.  Thev  were  republi^hed  with  some  origi- 
nals  in  1786  by  Mr.  George  Chalmers,  who  prefixed  a  Lite  of 
the  Author,  to  which  the  present  sketch  is  greatly  indebted. 

As  a  poet,  he  was  one  of  the  first  of  his  day,  but  has 
been  unaccountably  neglected,  although  his  style  ap- 
proaches the  refinement  of  modern  times.  The  best  ar- 
biters of  poetical  merit,  however,  seem  to  be  ccrreed  that 


D  A  V  I  E  S.  317 

his  "  Nosce  Teipsum"  is  a  noble  monument  of  learning, 
acuteness,  command  of  language,  and  facility  of  versitica- 
tion.  It  has  none,  indeed,  of  tiie  sublinicr  flights  which 
seem  adapted  to  philosophical  poetry,  but  he  is  particu- 
larly happy  in  his  images,  which  strike  by  their  novelty 
and  elegance.  As  to  his  versification,  be  has  anticipated 
the  harmony  which  the  modern  ear  requires,  more  suc- 
cessfully than  any  of  his  contemporaries. 

His  "  Orchestra,"  if  we  consider  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
ject, is  a  wonderful  instance  of  what  a  man  of  genius  may 
elicit  from  trifles.  His  *'  Acrostics"  are  considered  as  the 
best  ever  written,  but  that  praise  is  surely  not  very  great. 
It  is  amusing,  however,  to  contemplate  him  gra\ely  en- 
deavouring to  overcome  the  diflficulties  he  had  created, 
and  seeking  with  great  care  to  exchange  an  intruding  word 
for  one  better  suited  to  his  favourite  initials. 

According  to  Wood,  he  wrote  a  version  of  some  of  the 
Psalms,  which  is  probably  lost.  It  is  more  certain  that  he 
wrote  epigrams,  which  were  added  to  Marlow's  translation 
of  Ovid's  Epistles,  printed  at  Middleburgh  in  1596.  Mr. 
Ellis  has  given  two  of  them  among  his  "  Specimens,'* 
which  do  not  excite  much  curiosity  for  the  rest.  IVIarlow's 
volume  is  exceedinfrlv  scarce,  which  mav  be  accounted  for 
by  the  following  information:  in  1599,  the  hall  of  the 
stationers  underwent  as  great  a  purgation  as  was  carried  on 
in  don  Quixote's  library.  Marston's  Pvgmalion,  Marlow's 
Ovid,  the  satires  of  Hall  and  Marston,  the  epigrams  of 
Davies,  &c.  were  ordered  for  immediate  conflagration  by 
the  prelates  \V'hitgift  and  Bancroft.  There  are  other 
pieces  frequently  ascribed  to  sir  John  Davies,  which,  Mr. 
Ritson  thinks,  belong  to  John  Davies  of  Hereford,  but  as 
our  author  superintended  the  edition  of  his  poems  printed 
about  four  years  before  his  death,  he  included  all  that  he 
thought  proper  to  acknowledge,  and  probablv,  if  we  ex- 
cept the  epigrams,  nearly  all  that  he  had  written.  The 
lord  Dorset  recommended  an  edition  of  his  works  to  Tate, 
who  published  the  "  Nosce  Teipsum,"  with  the  preface. 
In  1773  another  edition  was  published  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Davies  from  a  copy  corrected  by  Mr.  William  Thom- 
son, the  poet,  including  the  "Acrostics"  and  "Orchestra.'* 
The  whole  have  been  added  to  the  late  edition  of  the  Poets.* 

■-  '  Johnson  and  Chalmers's  English  Poets,  1810. — Biog.  Brit. — Life,  by  Mr. 
George  Chahners,  pr»  fixed  to  bis  Tracts. — Wartoa's  Hist,  of  Poetry. — EUis's 
Specimens. — Ath.  Ov.  vol.  I.  £cc.  &c. 


315  DAVIE  S. 

DAVIES  (John),  a  translator  of  some  note   in  the  se- 
venteenth century,  was  born  at  Kidwelly  in  Carmarthen- 
shire,  May   25,  1625,  and  first  educated  in  Jesus  college, 
Oxfoid,   which   he  entered   in    May  1641,  and  where  he 
continued  until  Oxford  became  the  seat  of  the  civil  war, 
when  his  relations  removed  him  to  St,  John's  college,  Cam- 
bridn-e.      Here   he   conformed    to    the    professions   of   the 
republican  party,  but  was  better  employed  in  studying  the 
French  tongue,  and  afterwards,  during  a  visit  to  France, 
made   himself  com[)lete  master  of  it.     On    his  return   he 
settled  in  London,  and  lived  entirely  by  translating  for  the 
booksellers,  writing  prefaces,  and  superintending  editions 
of  books.     He   appears  to  have  retired  afterwards  to  Kid- 
welly,   his    native   place,  where  he   died  July    22,    1693, 
leaving,  says  Wood,   "  the  character  of  a  genteel,  harm- 
less, and  quiet  man."     W^ood   has  given  a  list  of  upwards 
of  thirty  volumes  translated  by  him  on  various  subjects,  the 
choice  probably  of  his  employers,  history,  travels,  novels, 
lives,  criticism,  medicine,  &c.  * 

DAVIES  (Miles),  a  Welsh  clergyman,  was  born  in 
Tre'r-Abbot,  in  Whiteford  parish,  Flintshire.  Of  his  per- 
sonal history  little  is  known,  except  that  he  was  a  good 
scholar,  very  conversant  in  the  literary  history  of  his  coun- 
try, and  very  unfortunate  in  attempting  to  turn  his  know- 
lege  to  advantage.  He  was  a  vehement  foe  to  Popery, 
Arianism,  and  Socinianism,  and  of  the  most  fervent  loyalty 
to  George  I.  and  the  Hanoverian  succession.  Owing  to 
some  disgust,  he  quitted  his  native  place,  and  probably  his 
profession  when  he  came  to  London,  as  he  subscribes'  him- 
self "  counsellor-at-law  ;"  and  in  one  of  his  volumes  has  a 
long  digression  on  law  and  law-writers.  Here  he  com- 
menced author  in  the  humblest  form,  not  content  with 
dedicating  to  the  great,  but  hawking  his  books  in  person 
from  duor  to  door,  where  he  was  often  repulsed  with  rude- 
ness, and  seldom  appears  to  have  been  treated  with  kind- 
ness or  liberality.  How  long  he  carried  on  this  unpros- 
perous  business,  or  when  he  died,  we  have  not  been  able 
to  discover.  Mr.  D' Israeli,  who  has  taken  much  pains  to 
rescue  his  name  from  oblivion,  suspects  that  his  mind  be- 
came disordered  from  poverty  and  disappointment.  He 
appears  to  have  courted  the  Muses,  who  certaitdy  were 
;iot  very  favourable  to  his  addresses.     The  most  curious, of 

>  Ath.  Ox.  vol,  II. 


D  A  V  I  E  S.  31J 

his  works  consist  of  some  volumes  under  the  general  title 
of  "  Athenge  Britannicac,"   8vo,    1715,   &c.  a  kind   of  bib- 
liographical, biographical,  and  critical  work,  *'  the  greatest 
part  (says  Baker,  the   antiquary)   borrowed  from   modern 
historians,  but  containing  some  things   more   uncommon, 
and  not  easily   to  be  m.et  with."     The  first  of  these  vo- 
lumes,  printed    in  1715,  is   entitled  Eixojv  M(«fo-/3i^M«»i,   sive 
Icon  Libellorum,  or  a  Critical  History  of  Pamphlets."      In 
this  he  styles  himself  "  a  gentleman  of  the  inns  of  court." 
The  others  are  entitled  "  Athenre  Britannicae,  or  a  Critical 
History  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  \V'riters  and  Writ- 
ings,  kc.  by  M.  D."  London,  171G,   8vo.     They  are  all  of 
BO  great  rarity,  that  Dr.  Farmer  never  saw  but  one  volume, 
the  first,   nor  Baker  but  three,  which  were  sent  to  him  as  a 
great  curiosity  by  the  earl  of  Oxford,  and  are  now  depo- 
sited in    St.  John's  college,   Cambridge.     In    the    British 
Museum  there  are  seven.     From  the   "  Icon  Libellorum," 
the   only  volume  we  have  had  an  opportunity  of  perusing 
attentively,  the  author  appears  to  have  been  well  acquainted 
with  English  authors,  their  works  and  editions,  and  to  have 
occasionally  looked  into  the  works  of  foreign  bibliographers.' 
DAVIE8  (Samuel),  an  American  clergyman  of  dissent- 
ing principles,  and  known  by  tliree  volumes  of  sermons,  in 
yvo,  edited  by  Dr.  Gibbons,  of  London,  was  born  Novem- 
ber 3,  1724,  in  the  county  of  Newcastle  in  Delaware,   in 
America,  and   was   early  designed  by  his  parents  for  the 
ministry,  in   which  he  became  very  popular.      In  1759  he 
succeeded   Mr.  Jonathan  Edwards  as  president  of  his  col- 
lege of  New  Jersey,  which   he  held   to  his    death,   Feb. 

4,  1761.      He   was  succeeded   in  his  post  by  the  rev.  Dr. 

5,  Finley,  who  died  on  the  1 7th  of  July  1766,  being  the 
fourth  president  that  filled  that  chair  in  the  short  space  of 
less  than  nine  years.  In  the  sermons  above  mentioned 
Mr.  Davies  deserves  little  praise  for  style,  and  his  editor 
not  much  for  judgment  of  selection.^ 

DAVIES  (Snkyd),  the  son  of  a  physician  who  practised 
in  Wales,  was  born  at  Shrewsbury,  and  educated  at  Eton, 
whence  he  removed  to  King's  college,  Cambridge,  and 
regularly  took  the  degrees  of  A.  B.  1732,  A.  M.  1737,  and 
D,  D.  1759.  He  was  early  noticed  by  his  school-fellow, 
Cornwallis,    archbishop  of  Canterbury,    when    bishop  of 

'   Pennant's  Hist,  of  Whiteford,  p.  115.— D'Tsraeli's  Calamities  of  Authors. 
'  Dr.  GJbbuns's  Fiinpia!  Sarmon  for  PreiiUent  Davies,  1761,  8vo. 


320  D  A  V  I  E  S. 

Lichfield  and  Coventry,   who  appointed   him  his  chaplain, 
and   collated  him   to  a  canonry  of  Lidifield,  and  in  1751 
presented   him   to  the  mastership  of  St,  John's  hospital, 
Lichfield.     He  was  also  archdeacon  of  Derhy,  and  rector 
of  Kingsland,   in   Herefordshire,  in  the  gilt  of  his  family. 
He  died  Feb.  6,  1769,   mucli  esteemed  for  his  learning  and 
amiable  disposition;  and  his  numerous  poems,  both  printed 
and  manuscript,  bear  ample  testimony  to  his  talents.      He 
wrote  several  of  the  anonymous   imitations  of  Horace  in 
Duncombe's   edition,  1767,  and   at  the  end  of  vol.  IV.  is 
given   the   character  of  the  ancient  Romans  from  a  poem 
by  him,  styled  "  'I'he  Progress  of  Science."     He  has  many 
poems  in  Dodsley's  and  Nichols's  collections,  and  one,   in 
Latin,   preserved  in  the   "  Alumni  Etonenses."     Mr.  Pen- 
nant also,   in   his   "  Tour  in  Wales,"   vol.   H.   p.   422,  has 
preserved  some  animated  lines  by  Dr.  Davies  on  Caractacus, 
which  he  says  were  delivered  almost  extempore  at  one  of 
the   annual   meetings   held  on  Caer   Caradoc   some  years 
ago  by  gentlemen    from   different  parts,  to  celebrate   the 
name  of  that  renowned  British  chieftain,  in  prose  or  verse.  * 
DAVIES  (Thomas),   a  man  of  considerable  talents,  and 
who   prided   himself  on  being  through  life  "  a  companion 
of  his   superiors,"  was   born    about  1712.     In    1728    and 
1729  he   was  at  the  university  of  Edinburgh,  completing 
his   education,  and   became,  as  Dr.  Johnson  used  to  say  of 
him,  "  learned  enough  for  a  clergyman."     That,  however, 
was  not  his  destination,   for  in  1736  we  find  him  among  the 
dramatis  personse   of  Lillo's  celebrated  tragedy  of  "  Fatal 
Curiosity,"  at  the   theatre   in    the   Haymarket,  where  he 
was   the   original  representative  of  young  Wilmot,   under 
the  management  of  Henry  Fielding.     He  afterwards  com- 
menced  bookseller  in  Duke's  court,  opposite  the  church 
of    St.    Martin-in-the-fields,     and    afterwards    in     Round 
court  in   the   Strand,  but  met  with  misfortunes  which  in- 
duced him  to  return  to  the  theatre.     For  several  years  he 
belonged  to  various  companies  at  York,  Dublin,  and  other 
places,    particularly   at  Edinburgh,  where    he   appears   to 
have   been  at  one   time  the  manager  of  the  theatre.     At 
York  he   married  miss  Yarrow,  daughter   of  a  performer 
there,  whose  beauty  was  not  more  remarkable  than   the 
blamelessness  of  her  conduct  and  the  amiablencss  of  her 

'  Nichols's  and  Dodsley's  Poems. — Harwood's  Alumni  Etonenses. — Chiirton's 
Liv«s  ot  the  rouiidera  of  Biazeniiose  college,  p.  ^fB. 


D  A  V  I  E  S.  32% 

manners.  In  1753  he  returned  to  London,  and  witli  Mrs, 
Davies  was  engaged  at  Drury-lane,  where  they  reniaiiied 
for  several  years  in  good  estimation  with  the  town,  and 
played  many  characters,  if  not  with  great  excellence,  at 
least  with  propriety  and  decency.  Churchill,  in  his  indis- 
criminate satire,  has  attempted  to  fix  some  degree  of  ridi- 
cule on  Mr.  Davies's  perfonftance,  which,  just  or  not,  had 
the  elFect  of  driving  him  from  the  stage,  which  ahout  1762 
he  exchanged  for  a  shop  in  Russel-street,  Covent  Garden  ; 
but  his  efforts  in  trade  were  not  crowned  with  the  success 
which  his  abilities  in  his  profession  merited.  In  1778  he 
became  a  bankrupt;  when,  such  was  the  regard  enter- 
tained for  him  by  his  friends,  that  they  readily  consented 
to  his  re- establishment ;  and  none  of  them,  as  he  says  him- 
self, were  more  active  to  serve  him  than  those  who  had 
suffered  most  by  his  misfortunes.  Yet,  all  their  efforts 
might  possibly  have  been  fruitless  if  his  powerful  and  firm 
friend  Dr.  Johnson  had  not  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost 
in  his  behalf.  He  called  upon  all  over  whom  he  had  any 
influence  to  assist  Tom  Davies ;  and  prevailed  on  Mr. 
Sheridan,  patentee  of  Drury-lane  theatre,  to  give  him  a 
benefit,  which  he  granted  on  the  most  liberal  terms.  In 
1780,  by  a  well-timed  publication,  the  "  Life  of  David 
Garrick,"  which  has  passed,  through  several  editions,  Mr. 
Davies  acquired  much  fame,  and  some  money.  He  af- 
terwards published  "  Dramatic  Miscellanies,"  in  3  vols, 
of  which  a  second  edition  appeared  a  few  days  only  before 
the  author's  death.  His  other  works  are,  1.  "  Some  Me- 
moirs of  Mr.  Henderson."  2.  "  A  Review  of  lord  Chester- 
field's Characters."  3.  A  "  Life  of  Massinger."  4.  Lives 
of  Dr.  John  Eachard,  sir  John  Davies,  and  Mr.  Lillo, 
prefixed  to  editions  of  their  works,  published  by  Mr.  Da- 
vies ;  and  fugitive  pieces  without  number  in  prose  and 
verse  in  the  St.  James's  Chronicle,  and  almost  all  the  pub- 
lic newspapers.  The  compiler  of  this  article  in  the  last 
edition  of  tliis  Dictionary,  informs  us  that  he  "  knew  him 
well,  and  has  passed  many  convivial  hours  in  his  company 
at  a  social  meeting,  where  his  lively  sallies  of  pleasantry- 
used  to  set  the  table  in  a  roar  of  harmless  merriment. 
The  last  time  he  visited  them  he  wore  the  appearance  of  a 
spectre  ;  and,  sensible  of  his  approaching  end,  took  a  so- 
lemn valediction  of  all  the  company."  Mr.  Davies  died 
the  5th  of  May,  17S5,  and  was  buried,  by  his  own  desire, 
in  the  vault  of  St.  Paul,  Covent  Garden*  close  by  the  side 
Vol.  XL  Y 


^23  P  A  V  I  E  S. 

of  his  next  door  neighbour,  the  late  Mr.  Grignion,  watch- 
maker. Mrs.  Davies  died  Feb.  9,  1801.  Tom  Davies,  as 
he  was  familiarly  called,  was  a  good-natured  and  con- 
scientious man  in  business  as  in  private  life,  but  his  thea- 
trical bias  created  a  levity  not  consistent  with  prudence. 
Had  he  been  rich,  he  would  have  been  liberal  :  Dr.  Camp- 
bell used  to  say  he  was  not  a  booksdlefj  but  a  gentleman 
who  dealt  in  hooks.'''' ' 

DAVILA  (GiLLES  Gonzales),  a  Spanish  ecclesiastic, 
and  historiographer  to  the  king  of  Spain,  was  a  native  of 
the  town  of  Avila-,  from  which  he  derived  his  name.  He 
accomi)anied  the  cardinal  Pierra  Deza  to  Rome,  and  made 
great  progress  in  the  study  of  sacred  and  profane  history. 
On  his  return  to  Spain,  he  was  presented  to  a  benefice  iu 
the  church  of  Salamanca  ;  and  being  invited  to  Madrid  in 
1612,  he  was  appointed  king's  historiographer  for  Casiille. 
He  composed  in  Spanish,  "A  History  of  the  Antiquities  of 
Salamanca  ;"  the  "  Life  of  Alphonso  Tostat ;"  "  Theatro 
de  las  Grandesas  de  Madrid  ;"  "  Theatro  ecclesiastico  de 
las  iglesias  *de  las  Indias;"  a  life  of  Henry  HI.  king  of  Cas- 
tilie,  &c.  and  other  works.  He  died  in  1658,  upwards  of 
eighty  years  old.^ 

DAVILA  (Louis),  a  Spanish  gentleman,  native  of  Pla- 
centia,  was  commander  in  the  order  of  Alcantara,  and  ge- 
neral of  cavalry  for  Charles  V.  at  the  siege  of  Metz   in 
1532.    The  duke  of  Guise  had  the  command  of  that  place. 
Davila  sent  a  trumpet  to  him  to  ask  for  a  fugitive  slave  who 
had  run  off  with  a  horse  of  great  value,  which  was  only  a 
pretext  for  gaining  an  observation  of  the  town.    The  duke 
of  Guise  was  not  a  man   to  be  so  easily  imposed  upon  : 
however,  he  sent  him  back  the  horse,  which  he  ransomed 
with   his   own  money;    and,   as  the  slave  had  pushed  on 
/arther,  he  sent  him  word,  that  "  he  was  already  a  good 
way  in  France ;  and  that  a  slave  became  free  on  setting 
his  foot  on  that  ground."     He  wrote  historical  memoirs  of 
the  war  carried  on  by  that  emperor  against  the  protestants 
of  Germany,    printed  for  the  first  time  in  Spain,   1546, 
and  afterwards  translated    into   Latin  and    French.     The 
president  Thuanus  censures  him  for  his  partiality  in  favour 
of  Charles  V.     There  is  also  by  him,  "  Memoires  de  la 
Guerre  d'Afrique."  ^ 

'  Nichols's  Bowyer. — Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson. — Granger's  Letters,  by  Mal- 
colm, p.  16 — 69. 

»  Moreri  and  Diet.  Hist,  in  Avila.  '  Ibid,  in  Avila. 


D  A  V  I  L  A.  323 

DAVILA  (Henry  Catherine),  a  celebrated  historian, 
was  the  son  of  Anthony  Davila,  who  was  constable  of  the 
kingdom  of  Cyprus  when  it  was  under  tlie   power  of  the 
Venetians  ;   but  having  lost  his  situation   by  the  conquest 
made  by  the  Turks  in  1570,  retired  to   Venice,  and  being 
possessed   of  some  property  at  Sacco    in   the   territory  of 
Padua,   determined  to  settle  there.      His  son  was  born  in 
this  place  in    1576,  and  named  Henry  Catherine,  in  ho- 
nour of  Henry  IH.   and  Catherine  de   Medicis,   who  had 
shown  marks  of  great  respect  and  kindness  for  the  con- 
stable,  when  he  was  in   France  a  little  before  the  war  of 
Cyprus.     When  young   Davila   had  attained  his   seventh 
year,  his  father  sent  him  to  France,   where  he  was  placed 
under  the  care  of  the  marechal  D'Hemery,   who  had  mar- 
ried his  father's  sister.      D'Hemery,   who  resided  at  Villars 
in   Normandy,  gave   his   nephew  an  excellent   education, 
and  at  a  suitable  age  introduced  him  at  court  as  one  of  the 
pages  to  the  queen  mother.     At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he 
served  in  the  war  aojainst  the  Leajrue,   and  distingfuished 
himself  by  an  ardour  which  frequently  endangered  his  life. 
In  1  599y  the  war  being  concluded  by  the  peace  of  Ver- 
vins,  Davila  was  recalled  by  his  father  and  by  the  Vene- 
tians, and  returned  to  Italy.     The  republic  of  Venice  en- 
trusted him  with  various  en)ployments,  both   military  and 
civil,  such  as  the  government  of  Candy,  and  of  Dalmatia, 
and  what  pleased  him  most,  the  title  of  constable  was  con- 
firmed to  him,  and  in  the  senate  and  on  all  public  occa- 
sions he  took  precedence  after  the  doge.     The  last  office 
to  which  he  was  appointed,  but  which   he  never  enjoyed, 
was  that  of  commander  of  Crema.     On   his  w^ay  to   this 
place,   the  dilFerent  towns  and  villages,  through  which  he 
was  to  pass,   were  ordered  to  furnish  him  with  a  change  of 
horses  and  carriages  ;  but  when  he  arrived  at  a  place  near 
Verona,  and  requested  the   usual  supplies,  they  were  de- 
nied ;   and  on  his  remonstrating,  a  brutal  fellow  shot  him 
dead  with  a  pistol.     The  assassin  was  immediately  killed 
by  one  of  Davila's  sons,  who  happened  to  be  with  him. 
This  misfortune  happened  in  1631,  exactly  a  year  after  he 
had   published,   in  Italian,  his  history  of  the  civil  wars  of 
France,   under    the    title    "  Istoria  delle  Guerre   civili  di 
Francia,"  Venice,   4tu,  reprinted  in  1634,  1638,  and  often 
since.    The  finest  editions  are  those  of  Paris,  1644,  2  vols, 
folio,  and  of  Venice,  1733,  2  vols,  folio.     We  have  two  old 
translations  into  English,   1647,  by  Aylesbury,  and  1678, 

Y  2 


324  D  A  V  I  L  A. 

by  Cottre!,  folio  ;  hut  the  best  is  that  by  Farneworth, 
1755,  2  vols.  4to.  The  French  have  likewise  translations 
by  Baudouin,  1642,  and  by  Grosley  and  the  abbe  Mallet, 
1757,  3  vols.  4to,  and  there  is  a  Latin  translation  by  Cor- 
nazano,   Rome,  1743,  3  vols,  4to. 

This  history  is  divided   into  fifteen  books,   and  contains 
every  thing  worth  notice   that  passed,  from  the   death  of 
Henry  II.    1559,   to   the    peace   of   Vervins    1598.     Lord 
Bolingbroke    calls   it  a  noble  history,  and  says,   that    he 
*'  should  not  scruple  to  confess  it  in  many  respects  equal 
to  that  of  Livy."     Davila  has  indeed  been  accused  of  too 
much  refinement  and   subtlety,  in  developing  the   secret 
motives  of  actions,  in  laying  the  causes  of  events  too  deep, 
and  deducing  them  often  through  a  series  of  progression 
too  complicated,   and  too   artfully  wrought.     But  yet,   as 
the  noble  lord  goes  on  in   his  "  Letters  on   the   Study  of 
History,"  1.  v.  "  the  suspicious  person,  who  should  reject 
this   historian  upon   such  general  inducements  as  these, 
would  have  no  grace  to  oppose  his  suspicions  to  the  autho- 
rity of  the  first  duke  of  Epernon,  who  had  been  an  actor, 
and  a  principal  actor  too,  in  many  of  the  scenes  that  Da- 
vila recites.     Girard,  secretary  to  this  duke,   and  no  con- 
temptible biographer,  relates,  that  this  history  came  down 
to  the  place  where  the  old  man  resided  in  Gascony,  a  little 
before  his  death ;  that  he  read  it  to  him ;  that  the  duke 
confirmed  the  truth  of  the  narrations  in  it ;  and  seemed 
only  surprised,  by  what  means  the  author  could  be  so  well 
informed  of  the  most  secret  councils  and  measures  of  those 
times." 

Davila  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  best  of  the  French 
historians,  but  is  liable  to  the  objections  made  to  other 
historians,  of  relying  too  much  on  his  own  invention,  all 
the  speeches  and  harangues  in  his  narrative  being  of  his 
own  composition,  and  adapted  to  his  own  sentiments  of 
the  persons  and  events  concerned.  Want  of  variety,  it 
has  also  been  observed,  is  sensibly  felt  in  his  history  :  the 
events  indeed  are  important  and  various;  but  the  reader 
languishes  by  a  tiresome  monotony  of  character,  every 
person  engaged  being  figured  a  consummate  politician, 
governed  hy  interest  only.  His  partiality  to  Catherine  of 
Medicis  may  perhaps  be  forgiven,  as  she  was  not  only  his 
great  benefactress,  but  communicated  many  particulars  ta 
his  history.     It  may  be  added  that  the  early  editions  of 


D  A  V  I  L  A.  S25 

this  history  are  more  incorrect  in   geography  and  names 
than  those  wliich  are  of  more  recent  date. ' 

DAVIS  (Henry  Edwards},  son  of  Mr.  John  T)uvis,  of 
Windsor,   was   born  Jnly  li,    1756,  and  educated  at  Eal- 
ing,  Mid  llesex  ;    vv.Mence  he   reniovecl   to    Bahol   colleo-e, 
Oxford,    May  J  7,  1774,   where  he  took  his  degree  of  B.  A. 
abunt  January  1778.     In  the  spring  of  that  year  he  wrote 
an  Examination  of  Gibbon's  "  History  of  the  Decline  and 
Fall    of  the   Roman  Empire,"   in   which   he   evinceil  more 
knowledge  than  is  usually  found  at  tiie  age  of  twenty-one. 
This  was  answered  by  the  historian  in  a  Vindication,  which 
brought  out  a  reply  by  Mr.  Davis,   who,  it  is  evi.ient,  gave 
Gibbon  no  small  uneasiness  by  attacking  him  on  his  vera- 
city and  fairness  of  quotation,   in   which   Gibbon   fancied 
himself  impregnable.      In    1780,   Mr.  Davis  having  taken 
his  master's  degree,  and  entered  into  priest's  orders,  was 
made  a  fellow  of  his  college;  anu,   for  some  time  before 
his  death,  had  the?  office  of  tutor,  which  he  discharged  with 
a  solicitude  and  constancy  too   great  for  the  sensibility  of 
his  mind,  and  the  delicacy  of  his  constitution.     A  linger- 
ing illness  removed  him  from  the  society  of  his  many  esti- 
mable friends,   and   deprived  the  pubhc  of  his  expected 
services.     Alfected  by  the  strongest  and  tenderest  of  those 
motives,   which  endear  life  and  subdue  fortitude,  he  sus- 
tained the  slow  approaches  of  dissolution,  not  only  resigned 
but  cheerful,    supported    by  the   principles  he   had    well 
defended.     Feb.  10,    1784,   without  any  apparent  change, 
between  a  placid  slumber  and  death,   he  expired.      He  was 
buried    at   Windsor,    the   place  of  his   nativity.      He   had 
cultivated   a  taste    for    elegant  literature,    particularly   in 
poetry.     Though  his  voice  was  not  strong,    his  elocution 
was    distinct,    animated,    unaffected,    and    pathetic.     The 
cheerfulness  and  vivacity  of  his  conversation,   the  warmth 
and  benevolence  of  his  heart,   fixed  by  principle,  and  ani- 
mated by  sentiment,  rendered  him  in  his  private  charac- 
ter,  alike  amiable  and  worthy  of  esteem.  ^ 

DAVIS  (John),  an  eminent  navigator,  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  was  born  at  Sandridge,  in  the  parish  of  Stoke- 
Gabriel,  near  Dartmouth  in  l3evonshire.  His  birth  near 
that  eminent  sea-port,  having  given  him  a  fair  opportunity, 

>  Tiraboschi. — Moieii. — Le  Long's  Bibl.  Historique. — Niceron,  vol.  XXXIX. 
2  Precedinjf  edition  of  ihis    Dictionary.— Gibbon's  Miscellaneous  Works, 
vol.  11. 


326  DAVIS, 

to  which  probably  was  added  a  strong  natural  disposition, 
he  put  himself  early  to  sea ;  where,  by  the  help  of  a  good 
master,  and  his  subsequent  industr\%  knowledge,  and  ex- 
perience, he  became  the  most  expert  pilot,  and  one  of  the 
ablest  navigators  of  his  time.     The  first  public  employ- 
ment he  had  was  in  1385,   when  he  undertook  to  discover 
a  new  passage,  by  the  north-west  parts  of  America,  to  the 
East-Indies.     For  that  purpose,  he  sailed  from  Dartmouth, 
on  the  seventh  of  June,   with  two  barks,  one  of  fifty  and 
the  otlier  of  thirty-five  tons,  which  were  fitted  out  at  the 
charge  of  some  noblemen  and  gentlemen;  and  met,  July  19, 
many  islands  of  ice  floating,  in  60  degrees  northern  lati- 
tude.    They  were  soon  encompassed  with  them  ;  and  going 
upon  some,  perceived,  that  the  roaring  noise  they  heard, 
at  which  they  were  greatly  astonished,  was  caused  only  by 
the  rolling  of  the  ice  together.     The  next  day,  they  dis- 
covered the   southern   coast   of   Groenland,  five   hundred 
leagues  distant  from  the  Durseys,  or  Missenhead,  in  Ire- 
land ;  and  observed  it  to  be  extremely  rocky  and  moun- 
tainous, and  covered  with  snow,  without  any  signs  of  wood, 
grass,  or  earth  to  be  seen.     The  shore,  likewise,  was  so 
full  of  ice,  that  no  ship  could  come  near  it  by  two  leagues  : 
and  so  shocking  was  the  appearance  of  it,  and  the  cracking 
of  the  ice  so  hideous,  that  they  imagined  it  to  be  a  quite 
desolate  country,  without  a  living  creature,  or  even   any 
vegetable  substance;  for  which  reason  captain  Davis  named 
it,  "  The  Land  of  Desolation."     Perceiving  that  they  were 
run  into  a  very  deep  bay,  wherein  they  were  almost  sur- 
rounded with  ice,  they  kept  coasting  along  the  edge  of  it, 
south-south-west,  till  the  25th  of  July;  when,  after  hav- 
ing gone   fifty  or  sixty  leagues,   they  found  that  the  shore 
lay  directly  north.     This  made  them  alter  their  course  to 
the  north-west,  in  hopes  of  finding  their  desired  passage  : 
but  on  the  29ih  they  discovered  land  to  the  north-east,  in 
64  degr.  15  min.  latitude.     Making  towards  it,  they  per- 
ceived that  they   were  passed  the  ice,  and  were  among 
many    green,   temperate,    and  pleasant  islands,  bordering 
upon  the  shore  ;  though  the  hills  of  the  continent  were  still 
covered    with    great    quantities    of   snow.       Among   these 
islailds  were  many  fine  bays,  and  good  roads  for  shipping  : 
they  landed  in  some,  and  the  people  of  the  country  came 
down  and  conversed  with  them  by  signs,  making  Mr.  Davis 
understand,  that  there  was  a  great  sea  towards  the  north 
■ '!'!  west.     He  staid  in  this  place  till  the  first  of  August, 


DAVIS.  327 

and  then  proceeded  in  his  discovery.  Tlie  sixth  of  that 
,  montli,  they  found  land  in  66  degr.  40  min.  hititude,  quite 
free  from  ice;  and  anchored  in  a  safe  road,  under  a  great 
mouiUaui,  the  cliffs  whereof  glistered  like  gold.  This 
inouiitain  lie  named,  Mount  Raleigh  :  the  road  where  their 
ships  lay  at  anchor,  Totness  Road  :  the  bay  which  encom- 
passed tlie  niouuiain,  Exeter  Sound  :  the  foreland  towards 
the  north,  Dier's  Cape :  and  the  foreland  towards  the 
south,  Cape  \Valsingham.  He  departed  from  hence  the 
eighth  of  August,  coasting  aiontj  the  shore,  which  lay 
souih-south-west,  and  east-north-east;  and  on  the  eleventh 
came  to  the  most  southerly  cape  of  that  land,  which  he 
named,  "  The  Cape  of  God's  Mercy,"  as  being  the  place 
of  their  first  entrance  for  the  discovery.  Going  forward, 
they  came  into  a  very  fine  straight,  or  passage,  in  some 
places  twenty  leagues  broad,  in  others  thirty,  quite  free 
from  ice,  the  weather  in  it  very  tolerable,  and  the  water  of 
the  same  colour  and  nature  as  the  main  ocean.  This  pas- 
sage still  retains  the  name  of  its  first  discoverer,  being 
called  to  this  day  Fretum  Davis,  or  Davis's  Straights. 
Having  sailed,  north-west,  sixty  leagues  in  this  passage, 
they  discovered  several  islands  in  the  midst  of  it;  on  some 
of  which  they  landed.  The  coast  was  very  barren,  with- 
out wood  or  grass  ;  and  ihe  rocks  were  like  fine  marble, 
full  of  veins  of  divers  colours.  Some  days  after  they  con- 
tinued searching  for  the  north-west  passage,  but  found 
only  a  great  nundfer  of  islands.  And,  on  the  20th,  the 
wind  coming  contrary,  they  altered  their  course  and  de- 
sign, and  returning  for  England,  arrived  at  Dartmouth  the 
29th  of  Sej)tember.  'I  he  next  year  Mr.  Davis  undertook 
a  second  voyage,  for  the  farther  discovery  of  the  north-west 
passage,  being  supported  and  encouraged  again  by  secre- 
tary Walsingh-am,  and  other  adventurers.  With  a  view 
therefore  of  searching  the  bottom  of  the  Straights  he  had 
been  in  the  year  before,  he  sailed  from  Dartmouth,  May 
the  7th,  1586,  with  four  ships,  and  the  15ih  of  June  dis- 
covered land  in  60  degrees  latitude,  and  47  desrrees  Ion- 
gitude  west  from  London.  The  ice  along  the  coast  reached 
in  some  places  ten,  in  some  twenty,  and  in  others  fifty 
leagues  into  the  sea;  so  that,  to  avoid  it,  they  were  forced 
to  bear  into  57  degrees  latitude.  After  many  tempestuous 
storms,  they  made  the  land  again,  June  the  29th,  in  64 
degrees  of  latitude,  and  58  of  longitude ;  and  ran  among 
the  temperate  islands  they  had  been  at  the  year  before. 


328  DAVIS. 

But  the  water  was  so  deep,  they  could  not  easily  come  to 
an  anchor ;  yet  they  found  means  to  go  ashore,  on  some 
of  the  islands,  where  they  were  much  caressed  and  wel- 
comed by  the  natives,  wiio  knew  them  again.  Havings 
finished  a  pinnace,  which  was  to  serve  them  for  a  front  in 
their  discoveries,  they  landed,  not  only  in  that,  but  also 
in  their  boats,  in  several  places  :  and,  upon  the  strictest 
search,  found  the  land  not  to  be  a  continent,  as  they  ima- 
gined, but  a  collection  of  huge,  waste,  and  desert  isles, 
with  great  sounds  and  inlets  passing  between  sea  and  sea. 
They  pursued  their  voyage  the  11th  of  July,  and  on  the 
17th,  in  63  degrees  8  minutes  latitude,  met  with  a  prodi- 
gious mass  of  ice,  which  they  coasted  till  the  30th.  This 
was  a  great  obstacle  and  discouragement  to  them,  not 
having  tlie  like  there  the  year  before  ;  and,  besides,  the 
men  beginning  to  grow  sickly,  the  crew  of  one  of  the 
ships,  on  which  he  chieHy  depended,  forsook  him,  and  re- 
solved to  proceed  no  farther.  However,  not  to  disappoint 
Mr.  W.  Sanderson,  who  was  the  chief  adventurer  in  this 
voyage,  and  for  fear  of  losing  the  favour  of  secretary  Wal- 
singham,  who  had  this  discovery  much  at  heart,  Mr.  Davis 
undertook  to  proceed  alone  in  his  small  bark  of  thirty  tons. 
Having  therefore  fitted,  and  well- victualled  it,  in  a  har- 
bour lying  in  66  degrees  33  minutes  latitude,  and  70  de- 
grees longitude,  which  he  found  to  be  a  very  hot  place, 
and  full  of  muscatoes,  he  set  sail  the  12th  of  August,  and 
coming  into  a  straight  followed  the  course  of  it  for  eighty 
leagues,  till  he  came  among  many  islands,  where  the  water 
ebbed  and  flowed  six  fathom  deep.  He  had  hopes  of  find- 
ing a  passage  there,  but  upon  searching  farther  in  his 
boat,  he  perceived  there  was  none.  He  then  returned 
again  into  the  open  sea,  and  kept  coasting  southward  as 
far  as  54  degrees  and  a  half  of  latitude  :  in  which  time  he 
found  another  great  inlet  near  forty  leagues  broad,  between 
two  lands,  west,  where  the  water  ran  in  with  great  violence. 
This,  he  imagined,  was  the  passage  so  long  sought  for  ; 
l)ut  the  wind  being  then  contrary,  and  two  furious  storms 
happening  soon  alter,  he  neither  thought  it  safe  nor  wise 
to  proceed  farther,  especially  in  one  small  bark,  and  when 
the  season  was  so  far  advanced.  He,  therefore,  sailed  for 
England  the  1 1th  of  September;  and  arrived  there  in  the 
beginning  of  October.  By  the  observations  which  he 
piade,  he  concluded,  that  the  north  parts  of  America  are 
ftU  islt^nda.     He  made  a  third  voyage  to  these  parts  agair^ 


DAVIS.  329 

the  year  following,  1587.     All  the  western  merchants,  and 
most  of  tliose  of  London,  refused  to  be  engaged  farther  in 
the  undertaking;  but  it  vvas  encouraired   by  the  lord  trea- 
surer   Burleigh    and    se  retary   Vv'ulsnigham.      Mr.    Davis 
having,   in   his  last  voyage,   discovered  prodigious  quanti- 
ties of  excellent  cod-lish,  in  56  degrees  of  latitude,  two 
ships  were  sent  along  with  bini  for  hslung,  and  one   only 
for  the  discover)  of  the  Nortli  west  passcige.     They  sailed 
from  Dartmouth  the  19th  of  Ma),   and  discovered  laud  the 
14th  of  June,  at  sixteen  leagues  distance,  but  very  moun- 
tainous, and  covered  with  snow.     On  the  21st  of  June  the 
two  barks  left  him,  and  went  upon  the  fishing,  after  having 
promised  him,  not  to   depart  till  his  return   to  them  about 
the   end  of  August,  yet   having    finished   their  voyage   in 
about  sixteen  days  after,   they  set  sail  for  England  without 
any  regard  to  their  promise.     Captain  Davis,  in  the  mean 
time,   pursued  his  intended  discovery,   in  the  sea  between 
America  and  Groenland,  from  64  to  73  degrees  of  latitude. 
Having  entered   the   Straights  which  bear  his   name,  he 
went  on  northward,  from   the   21st   to  tlie  30th  of  June; 
naming  one  part  Merchants  Coast;  another,   the  London 
Coast;  anotlier,   Hope  Sanderson  in  73    degrees  latitude, 
being  the  farthest  he  went  that  day.     The  wind  coming 
nortiierly,   he   altered   his   course,  and   ran   forty    leagues 
west,   without  seeing  any  land.      On  the  2d  of  July,  he  fell 
in  with  a  great  bank  of  ice,   which  he  coasted  southward 
till  the  1 9th  of  July,  when  he  came  within  sight  of  Mount 
Raleigh  on   the   American  coast,  in   about  67   degrees  of 
latitude.      Having  sailed  sixty  leagues  north-west  into  the 
gulf  tiiat  lies  beyond  it,  he  anchored,  July  23,  at  the  bot- 
tom  of  that  gulf,   among  many  islands,   which  he  named 
*'  The  Earl  of  Cumberland's  Isles  "      He  quilted  that  place 
again  the  same  day,   and   sailed   back   south-east,  in  order 
to  recover  the  sea;   which  he  did  the  29th  in  62  degrees  of 
latitude.     The  30th  he  passed  by  a  great  bank,  or  inlet,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Lumley's  Inlet ;  and  the  next 
day  by  a  head  land,   which  he  called   "  The  Earl  of  War- 
wick's Foreland."     On  the  first  of  August  he  fell  in  with 
the  southermost   cape,  named    by    him   Chudley's   Cape: 
jind,  the  12th,  passed  by  an  island  which  he  named  Darcy's 
Island.     When   he   came  in    52  degrees  of  latitude,    not 
finding  the  two  ships  that  had  promised  to  stay  for  him,  he 
.was  in  great  distress,   having  but  little  wood,  and  only  half 
,a  hogshead  of  water  left;  yet,  taking  courage,  he  made 


330  .  D  A  V  I  S. 

the  best  of  his  way  home,  and  ari'ived  at  Dartmoutli  Sep- 
teml)er  the  15th,  very  sanguine,  that  the  north-west  pas- 
sage was  most  probable,  and  the  execution  easy  ;  but  se- 
cretary W'alsinghanj  dying  not  long  after,  all  farther  search 
was  laid  aside.  Mr.  Davis,  notwithstanding,  did  not  re- 
main idle.  For,  August  26,  1391,  he  was  captain  of  the 
Desire,  rear  admiral  to  Mr.  Thomas  Cavendish,  in  his  se- 
cond unfortunate  expedition  to  the  South -Sea;  and  is 
highly  blamed  by  Mr.  Cavendish,  for  having  deserted  him, 
and  thereby  being  the  cause  of  his  overthrow.  After  many 
disasters,  Mr.  Davis  arrived  asrain  at  Bear-haven  in  Ire- 
land,  June  11,  1593.  He  performed  afterwards  no  less 
than  five  voyages  to  the  East-Indies,  in  the  station  of  a 
pilot.  One  was  in  a  Dutch  ship,  in  which  he  set  out, 
March  13,  1597-8,  from  Flushing,  and  returned  to  Mid- 
dleburgb,  July  23,  1600,  Of  the  rest  we  have  no  account, 
except  of  that  which  he  performed  with  sir  Edward  Michel- 
bourne,  in  which  were  spent  nineteen  months,  from  De- 
cember 5,  1604,  to  Jnly  9,  1606.  During  this  voyage 
Mr.  Davis  was  killed,  on  the  27th  of  December,  1605,  in 
a  desperate  fight  with  some  Japonese  near  the  coast  of 
Malacca.  He  married  Faith,  daughter  of  sir  John  Fulford, 
of  Fulford  in  Devonshire,  knight,  by  Dorothy  his  wife, 
daughter  of  John  lord  Bouchier,  earl  of  Bath,  by  whom 
probubly  he  had  issue  :  for  some  of  his  posterity  are  said  to 
have  been  living  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  at 
or  near  Deptford. 

*'  The  account  of  his  second  voyage  for  the  Discovery 
of  the  North-west  Passage,  in  1586,"  seems  to  be  of  bis 
composition  ;  for  he  speaks  always  in  the  first  person. 
There  are  likewise  in  print  two  letters  of  his  to  Mr.  San- 
derson, one  dated  from  Exeter,  October  14,  1586  ;  and 
the  other  from  Sandridge,  September  16,  1587.  Hakluyt 
has  also  preserved  "  A  Traverse  Booke  made  by  M.  John 
Davis,  in  his  third  voyage  for  the  discoverie  of  the  North- ' 
west  Passage,  aimo  15  87,"  and  it  appears  that  he  com- 
posed a  treatise  entitled  "  The  World's  Hydrographicall 
Description,"  for  Hakluyt  has  extracted  from  it,  and 
published,  "  A  report  of  Master  John  Davis,  of  his  three 
voyages  made  for  the  Discovery  of  the  North-west  Passage." 
His  voyage  to  the  East  Indies  in  a  Dutch  ship,  in  1  598,  was 
written  al;50  by  himself.  It  is  said  that  "  There  is  a  Rut- 
ter,  [Iloutier]  or  Brief  Directions  for  sailing  into  the  East 
Indies,  digested  nito  a  plain  method  by  this  same  person. 


DAVIS.  .331 

John  Davis,  of  Limehouse,  (as  he  is  there  called)  written 
upon  experiment  of  his  five  voyages  thither,  and  home 
again."  But  either  it  was  not  written  hy  the  same  John 
Davis,  who  is  the  suhject  of  this  article,  or  else  our  John 
Davis  was  not  killed  in  the  East  Indies,  as  we  have  said 
above  upon  the  authority  of  Purchas,  and  of  those  that 
have  copied  from  him. 

In  tne  Index  to  the  first  edition  of  the  Biographia,  it 
is  observed,  that  there  is  a  defect  in  tlie  article  of  John 
Davis,  :is  it  has  not  mentioned  his  quadrant  for  finding  out 
the  latitude  at  sea.  Concerning  his  main  object,  how- 
ever, the  attempt  for  the  discovery  of  a  northern  passage 
to  India,  much  may  be  foun;:!  in  captain  Cook's  Voyages, 
particuhu'ly  the  introduction  to  his  last  voyage.' 

DAVl.s,  or  DAViES  (John),  of  Hereford,  as  he  usually 
styled  himself,  a  poet   and  sclioolmasier,  was  born  in  that 
city,  and  sent  when  young  from   a  grammar-school  there, 
to  the  university  of  ()xford  ;   but  Wood  has  not  discovered 
in  what  college  he  studied,  nor  does  it  appear  that  he  took 
any  degree.     After  leaving  the  university,   he  returned  to 
his  native  place,    where   he   olitained  the   character   of  a 
poet,  and  published   several  productions  of  the   rhyming 
kind  ;  but  not  finding,  as  it  would  indeed   have  been  won- 
derful if  he  had   found,   much  profit  accrue,  he  set  up  a 
writing-school,  first  at  Hereford,  and  afterwards  in  London, 
where  he  at  length  acquired   the  character   of  one  of  the 
first  penmen   in    England.     In  1611  we  find   him  living  in 
Fleet-street,    and    a   Roman   catholic.      From   Peck's  De- 
siderata  it   appears    that    Arthur  Wilson  was    one  of  his 
pupils,   and  that  the   conversation  of   Davis  and  his  family 
inspired  him  with  some  doubts  of  the  religious  kind.    From 
his  poems  we  learn  that  Davis  ,left   a   brother,  James,   at 
Oxford,  who  was  also  a  writing-master  ;  and  that  he  himself 
married  a  wife  whose  name  was  Croft,  by  whom,  he  says,  he 
had  a  "  crop  of  care,"   meaning,   proiiably,  a  large  family. 
As  a  writing-master,  he  published  some  engraved  books  of 
instruction,  or  specimens,   but  Wassey  hds  seen  only  "  The 
Writing  School- master,  or  Anatomy  of  Fair  Writing,"  en- 
graved, after   his  death,  by  Ingheenram,  which  he  thinks 
does  not  support  the  high  character  given  of  his  penman- 
ship by  his  contemporaries.      It  is  said  he  was  some   time 
tutor  to  prince  Henry,  who,  according  to  Birch,  wrote  a 

J  Biog.  Brit, — Prince's  Worthies  of  Devon. 


332  DAVIS. 

very  fine  hand.  He  died  about  1618,  and,  Fuller  informs 
us,  was  buried  in  the  church  or  church-yard  ol"  St.  Giles's 
in  the  Fields. 

His  poetical  works  are  numerous,  but  discover  very  little 
taste   or  talent :     1.   "  St.   Peter's   Complaint,    witli  other 
Poems,"  Loud.  1595,  4to.    2.  "  Mirum  in  modo  ;  a  glimpse 
of  God's  glory,  and  the  soul's  shape,"  ibid.  1602,  and  1616, 
8vo.      3.   "    IViicrocosmus,    or  the  Discovery   of  the  Little 
World,"    Oxon.    1603,    4to.      4.    "  The    Holy    Rood    of 
Christ's    Cliurch,"    Lond.    1609,    4io,    with    Sonnets.     5. 
"  Humours    Heaven    and    Earth,    with    the    civil    wars    of 
Death   and   Fortune,"  ibid.    1609,   8vo.      6.   "  Wit's   Pil- 
grimage,"   Lond.  4to,  no  date.     7.   "  Muse's   Sacrifice,  or 
Divine  Meditations,"  ibid.  1612,  12mo.      8.  "  The  Muse's 
Tears   for  the  loss  of  their  hope,  the  heroic  and  never  too 
much  praised  Henry,  prince  of  Wales,"   ibid.    1613,  4to, 
&c.  &c.  &c.     Four  of  these  volumes   are  noticed   m  the 
Censura   Literariii,  one  in  Beloe's  Anecdotes,  and  one  in 
the  British  Bibliographer,  by  Mr.  Haslewood,  whose  cha- 
racter of  Davis's  poetry  may  be  adopted  with  confidence. 
"  Davis's  poetical  attempts  are  generally  heavy,  dull,  ob- 
scure,  and   inharmonious  ;   and  his  pages  are  remarkable 
for  inconsistency.      One  while  he  is  potnnng  forth  celestial 
rhapsodies,  and  then  '  with  jerkes  of  wit  (as  iie  terms  them) 
to  whip  every  vice,'   blundering  on  expressions  too  gross 
for  pen   or   press,  while   the   reader,  who   may  have   been 
edified  by  his  morality,   is  left  to  fill  up  the  blank  of  a  dis- 
gusting parenthesis.      His  witticisms  are  often  feeble  puns, 
double  entendres,  and  occasionally  have  their  point  de- 
pending on  a  fabricated  name.     Yet  though  the  whole  of 
his  pieces  now  class  as  rare,  from  their   number  it  seems 
presumable   they  were  not  ill  received.     To  us  moderns, 
however,  there  seldom  appears  poignancy   in  his  wit,  or 
nerve  in  his  poetry."  ' 

DAVIS  (Rowland),  an  Irish  divine,  was  born  near  Cork, 
in  1649,  and  educated  at  Trinity-college,  Dublin,  where 
he  took  his  decrree  of  LL.  D.  andvvas  accounted  an  enii- 
nent  civilian.  Having  entered  into  holy  orders,  he  was 
promoted  to  be  dean  of  Cork,  and  was  afterwards  vicar- 
general  of  the  diocese,  both  which  preferments  he  retained 
until  his  death  ni  1721.      He  wrote,  "  A  Letter  to  a  friend 

'  Atli.  Ox.  vol.  I. — Miissey's  Origin  and  Progress  of  Letters. — Censura  Lite- 
raria,  vol.  L  IL  and  V.— liiblicgiaphcr,  vol.  II.  ■247. — Warton's  Hist,  of 
Poetry,  vol.  IV.  p.  15,  56,  87 Whalley's  Ben  Jonson,  vol.  VI.  p.  230. 


DAVIS.  333 

concerning  his  changing  his  religion,"   Lond.    1694,  4to. 
This   friend  was  a  Mr.  Turner,  recorder  of  Limerick,  wlio 
had  become  a  Roman  catholic.     Dr.  Davis  published  also, 
"  Tiie  truly  Catholick  and  Old  Religion,  shewing  that  the 
established  church  in  Ireland   is   more   truly  a  member  of 
the  catholic  church,  than   the   church  of  Rome,  and   that 
all  the  ancient  Christians,  especially  in   Great   Britain  and 
Ireland,    were   of   her   communion,"    Dublin,    1716,    4to. 
This   was  answered   the   same  year  by  I'imothy  O'Brien, 
D.  D.  of  Toulouse,    a   native   of  Cork,    and    then   parish 
priest  of  Castlelions,  in  a  pamphlet  printed  at  Cork,  anony- 
mously, to  which  Dr.  Davis  replied  in   "  A  Letter  to  the 
pretended  Answer,  &c."      O'Brien  returned  to  the  charge 
with    "   Goliath    beheaded   with   his  own   sword,"   4to,  to 
which   Dr.  Davis  replied   in   "  Remarks  on  a  pamphlet  en- 
titled   Goliath,    &c."      He   also  published   two   occasional 
sermons,  one  on  the  30th  of  January,  entitled  "  Christian 
Loyalty,"    1716,   4to  ;  the  other  a  charity  sermon,   Dublin, 
17  17,  8vo.' 

DAVISON  (William),  a  very  eminent  statesman,  and 
secretary  of  state  in  the  reign  of  queen  Elizabeth,  was,  if  not 
a  native  of  Scotland,  at  least  descended  from  those  who  were, 
as  himself  professed  to  sir  James  Melvile.     At  what  time  he 
came  into  the  court  of  queen  Elizabeth,  or  in  what  state,  is 
uncertain.  It  is  most  probable,  that  his  parts  and  learning,  to- 
gether with  that  extraordinary  diligence  and  wonderful  ad- 
dress for  which  he  was  always  distinguished,  recommended 
him  to  Mr.  Killigrew,  afterwards  sir  Henry  Kiiligrew,  with 
whom  he  went  in  quality  of  secretary,  at  the  time  he  was  sent 
into  Scotland,  to  compliment  queen  Mary  upon  the  birth  of 
her  son.  This  was  in  1566,  and  there  is  a  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  he  remained  from  that  time  about  the  court,  and  was 
employed  in  several  affairs  of  great  consequence.    In  1575, 
when  the  states  of  Brabant  and  Flanders  assumed  to  them- 
selves the  administration  of  all  affairs  till  his  catholic  ma- 
jesty should  appoint  a  new  governor  of  the  Low  Countries, 
Mr.  Davison  was  sent  over  with  a  public  character  from 
the  queen  to  those  states,  under  the  plausible  pretence  of 
exhorting  them  to  continue  in  their  obedience  to  his  ca- 
tholic majesty ;  but,   in   reality,  to  see  how  things  actuall}' 
stood  in  that  part  of  the  world,  that  her  majesty  might  be 
the  better  able  to  know  how  to  proceed  in  respect  to  the 

*  Moreri.— Sir  James  Ware's  Works  by  Harris,  vol.  U, 


334  DAVISON. 

several  applications  made  to  her  from  the  prince  of  Orange^ 
and  the  people  of  Holland.  He  executed  this  commission 
very  successfully,  and  therefore  the  queen  sent  him  over 
as  her  minister,  to  pacify  the  troubles  that  had  arisen  at 
Ghent ;  and  when  his  presence  was  no  longer  necessary 
there,  he  was  commissioned  on  her  behalf  to  the  States  of 
Holland,  in  1579.  His  con'duct  tliere  gave  equal  satisfac- 
tion to  the  queen  his  mistress,  and  to  those  with  whom  he 
negotiated.  He  gave  them  great  hopes  of  the  queen's  as- 
sistance and  support,  and  when  a  sum  of  money  was  de- 
sired, as  absolutely  necessary  towards  providing  for  their 
defence,  he  very  readily  undertook  to  procure  it  upon 
reasonable  security  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  a  very  con- 
siderable sum  was  sent  from  England,  for  which  all  the 
valuable  jewels  and  fine  plate  that  had  been  pledged  by 
Matthias  of  Austria  to  the  States  of  Holland,  and  which 
were  the  remains  of  the  magnificence  of  the  house  of  Bur- 
gundy, were  transported  to  England.  These  journies, 
and  the  success  attending  them,  gave  Mr.  Davison  great 
reputation  at  court,  insomuch,  that  in  all  matters  of  a  nice 
and  difficult  nature,  Davison  was  some  way  or  other  con- 
tinually employed.  Thus  in  1583,  when  matters  wore  a 
serious  aspect  in  Scotland,  he  was  sent  thither  as  the 
queen's  ambassador,  in  order  to  counteract  the  French 
ministers,  and  to  engage  the  king  of  Scots  and  the  people, 
both  to  slight  the  offers  made  them  from  that  country,  and 
to  depend  wholly  upon  assistance  from  England.  Affairs 
in  the  Low  Countries  coming  at  last  to  a  crisis,  and  the 
states  resolving  to  depend  n|jon  queen  Elizabeth,  in  the 
bold  design  they  had  formed  of  defending  their  freedom 
b}-  force  of  arms,  and  rendering  themsehes  independent, 
Mr.  Davison,  at  this  time  clerk  of  the  privy  council,  was 
chosen  to  manage  this  delicate  business,  and  to  conclude 
with  them  that  alliance  which  was  to  be  the  basis  of  their 
future  undertakings.  In  this,  which,  without  question, 
was  one  of  the  most  perplexed  transactions  in  that  whole 
reign,  he  conducted  things  with  such  a  happy  dexterity, 
as  to  merit  the  strongest  acknowledgments  on  the  part  of 
the  States,  at  the  same  time  that  he  rendered  the  highest 
service  to  the  queen  his  mistress,  and  obtained  ample  se- 
curity for  those  expences  which  that  princess  thought 
necessary  in  order  to  keep  danger  at  a  distance,  and  to  en- 
courage the  flames  of  war  in  the  dominions  of  her  enemy, 
whom  at  that  juncture  she  knew  to  be  meditating  how  he 


DAVISON.  335 

might  transfer  them  into  her  own.  Upon  the  return  of 
Mr.  Davison  into  England,  alter  the  conclusion  ol'  this 
treat}-,  he  was  declared  of  the  jjrivy-councii,  and  appointed 
one  of  her  majesty's  principal  secretaries  of  state,  in  con- 
junction with  sir  Francis  Walsingham  ;  so  that,  at  this 
time,  these  offices  may  be  affirmed  to  have  been  as  well 
filled  as  in  any  period  that  can  be  assigned  in  our  history, 
and  yet  by  persons  of  very  different,  or  rather  opposite 
dispositions ;  for  Walsingham  was  a  man  of  great  art  and 
intrigue,  one  who  was  not  displeased  that  he  was  thought 
such  a  person,  and  whose  capacity  was  still  deeper  than 
'those  who  understood  it  best  apprehended  it  to  be.  Da- 
vison, on  the  other  hand,  had  a  just  reputation  for  wisdom 
and  probity  ;  and,  though  he  had  been  concerned  in  many 
intricate  affairs,  yet  he  preserved  a  character  so  unspotted, 
that,  to  the  time  he  came  into  this  office,  he  had  done  no- 
thing that  could  draw  upon  him  the  least  imputation.  It 
is  an  opinion  countenanced  by  Camden,  and  which  has 
met  with  general  acceptance,  that  he  was  raised  in  order 
to  be  ruined,  and  that,  when  he  was  made  secretary  of 
state,  there  was  a  view  of  obliirins,-  him  to  «o  out  of  his 
depth  in  that  matter,  which  brought  upon  him  all  his  mis- 
fortunes. This  conjecture  is  very  plausible,  and  yet  there 
is  good  reason  to  doubt  whether  it  is  well  founded.  Mr. 
Davison  had  attached  himself,  during  the  progress  of  his  for- 
tunes, to  the  potent  earl  of  Leicester  ;  and  it  was  chiefly  to 
his  favour  and  interest  that  he  stood  indebted  for  this  hi"]i 
employment,  in  which,  if  he  was  deceived  by  another  great 
statesman,  it  could  not  be  said  that  he  was  raised  and 
,  ruined  by  the  same  hands.  But  there  is  nothing  more  pro- 
bable than  that  the  bringing  about  such  an  event  by  an 
instrument  which  his  rival  had  raised,  and  then  removing 
him,  and  rendering  his  parts  useless  to  those  who  had 
raised  him,  gave  a  double  satisfaction  to  him  who  managed 
this  design.  It  is  an  object  of  great  curiosity  to  trace  the 
principal  steps  of  this  transaction,  which  was,  without 
doubt,  one  of  the  finest  strokes  of  political  management  in 
that  whole  reign.  ,  When  the  resolution  was  taken,  in  the 
beginning  of  October  1586,  to  bring  the  queen  of  Scots 
to  a  trial,  and  a  commission  was  issued  for  that  purpose, 
secretary  Davison's  name  was  inserted  in  that  commission  ; 
but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  present  when  that  com- 
mission was  opened  at  Fotheringay  castle,  on  the  llth  of 
October,  or  that  he  ever  assisted  there  at  all.     Indeed, 


336  DAVISON. 

the  management  of  that  transaction  was  very  wisely  left  in 
the  hands  of  those  who  with  so  much  address  had  con- 
ducted the  antecedent  business  for  the  conviction  of  An- 
thony  Babingtoii,  and  his  accomphces,  upon  the  truth  and 
justice  of  wliich,  the  proceedings  against  the  queen  of 
Scots  entirely  depended.  On  the  25th  of  October  the 
sentence  was  declared  in  the  star-chamber,  things  pro- 
ceeding still  in  the  same  channel,  and  nothing  particularly 
done  by  secretary  Davison.  On  the  29th  oi  the  same 
month  the  parliament  met,  in  which  Serjeant  Puckering 
was  speaker  of  the  house  of  commons  ;  and,  upon  an  ap- 
plication from  both  houses,  queen  Elizabeth  caused  the 
sentence  to  be  published,  which,  soon  after,  was  notified 
to  the  queen  of  Scots;  yet  hitherto  all  was  transacted  by 
the  other  secretary,  who  was  considered  by  the  nation  in 
general  as  the  person  who  had  led  this  prosecution  from 
bescinninor  to  end.  The  true  meaning  of  this  long  and  so- 
lemn  proceeding  was  certainly  to  remove,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, any  reflection  upon  queen  Elizabeth  ;  and,  that  it 
might  appear  in  the  most  conspicuous  manner  to  the  world, 
that  she  was  urged,  and  even  constrained  to  take  the  life 
of  the  queen  of  Scots,  instead  of  seeking  or  desiring  it. 
This  assertion  is  not  founded  upon  conjecture,  but  is  a 
direct  matter  of  fact  ;  for,  in  her  first  answer  to  the  par- 
liament, given  at  Richmond  the  12th  of  November,  she 
complained  that  the  late  act  had  brought  her  into  a  great 
strait,  by  obliging  her  to  give  directions  for  that  queen's 
death  ;  and  upon  the  second  application,  on  the  24th  of 
the  same  month,  the  queen  enters  largely  into  the  conse- 
quences that  must  naturally  follow  upon  her  taking  that 
step,  and  on  the  consideration  of  them,  grounds  her  re- 
turning no  definitive  resolution,  even  to  this  second  appli- 
cation. The  delay  which  followed  after  the  jjublication 
of  the  sentence,  gave  an  opportunity  for  the  French  king, 
and  several  other  princes,  to  interpose,  but  more  especially 
to  king  James,  whose  ambassadors,  and  particularly  sir 
Robert  Melvile,  pressed  the  queen  very  hard.  Camden 
says,  that  his  ambassadors  unseasonably  mixing  threaten- 
ings  with  intreaties,  they  were  not  very  uelcome  ;  so  that 
after  a  few  days  the  ambassadors  were  dismissed,  with 
small  hopes  of  succeeding.  But  we  are  elsewhere  told, 
that,  when  Melvile  requested  a  respite  of  execution  for 
eight  days,  she  answered,  *'  Not  an  hour."  This  seemed 
to  be  a  plain  declaration  of  her  majesty's  final  determma- 


DAVISON.  33^ 

tion,  and  such  in  all  probability  it  was,  so  that  her  death 
being  resolved,  the  only  point  that  remained  under  debate 
was,  how  she  should  die,  that  is,  whether  by  the  hand  of 
an  executioner,  or  otherwise.  In  respect  to  this,  the  two 
secretaries  seem  to  have  been  of  different  sentiments.  Mr. 
Davison  thought  the  forms  of  justice  should  go  on,  and 
the  end  of  this  melancholy  transaction  correspond  with  the 
rest  of  the  proceedings.  Upon  this,  sir  Francis  Walsing- 
ham  pretended  sickness,  and  did  not  come  to  court,  and 
by  this  means  the  whole  business  of  drawing  and  bringing 
the  warrant  to  the  queen  to  sign,  fell  upon  Davison,  who, 
pursuant  to  the  queen's  directions,  went  through  it  in  the 
manner  that  Camden  has  related.  But  it  is  very  remark- 
able, that,  wliile  these  judicial  steps  were  taking,  the  other 
method,  to  which  the  queen  herself  seemed  to  incline, 
proceeded  also,  and  secretary  Walsingham,  notwithstanding 
his  sickness,  wrote  the  very  day  the  warrant  was  signed^ 
which  was  Wednesday,  February  1st,  1586-7,  to  sir  Aniias 
Pawlet  and  sir  Drew  Drury,  to  put  them  in  mind  of  the 
association,  as  a  thing  that  might  countenance,  at  least, 
if  not  justify,  this  other  way  of  removing  the  queen  of 
Scots.  It  is  tru&,  that  Mr.  Davison  subscribed  this  letter, 
and  wrote  another  to  the  same  persons  two  days  after  ;  but 
it  appears  plainly  from  the  answer,  that  the  keepers  of 
the  queen  of  Scots  considered  the  motion  as  coming  from 
Walsingham.  The  warrant  beinsf  delivered  to  the  lords 
of  the  council,  they  sent  it  down  by  Mr.  Beale,  their  clerk, 
a  man  of  sour  and  stubborn  temper,  and  who  had  always 
shewn  a  great  bitterness  against  the  queen  of  Scots.  The 
day  of  his  departure  does  not  appear;  but  queen  Mary 
had  notice  given  her  on  the  Monday,  to  prepare  for  deatli 
on  the  Wednesday,  which  she  accordingly  suffered.  As 
soon  as  queen  Elizabeth  was  informed  of  it,  she  expressed 
great  resentment  against  her  council,  forbad  them  her  pre- 
sence and  the  court ;  and  caused  some  of  them  to  be 
examined,  as  if  she  intended  to  call  them  to  an  account 
for  the  share  they  had  in  this  transaction.  We  are  not 
told  particularly  who  these  counsellors  were,  excepting  the 
lord  treasurer  Burleigh,  who  fell  into  a  temporary  dis- 
grace about  it,  and  was  actually  a  witness  against  Mr.  Da- 
vison. As  for  the  earl  of  Leicester  and  secretary  VV'alsing;- 
ham,  they  had  prudently  withdrawn  themselves  at  the  last 
act  of  the  tragedy,  and  took  care  to  publish  so  much,  by 
Vol.  XI.  Z 


35S  DAVISON. 

their  letters  into  Scotland  j  but  secretary  Davison,  upon  whom 
it  was  resolved  the  whole  weight  of  this  business  should  fall, 
was  deprived  of  his  office,  and  sent  prisoner  to  the  Tower,  at 
which  nobody  seenjs  to  have  been  so  much  alarmed  as  the  lord 
treasurer,  who,  though  himself  at  that  time  in  disgrace,  wrote 
to    the  queen  in  strong  terms,  and  once  intended  to  have 
written  in  much  stronger.     This  application  had  no  effect, 
for  the  queen  having  sent  her  kinsman  Mr.  Gary,  son  to  the 
lord  Ilunsdon,  into  Scotland,  to  excuse  the  matter  to  king 
James,  charged  with  a  letter  to  him  under  her  own  hand,  in 
which  she  in   the  strongest  terms  possible  asserted  her  own 
innocence,  there   was  a  necessity  of  doing  something  that 
iTiioht  carry  an  air  of  evidence,  in  support  of  the  turn  she 
had  now  given  to  the  death  of  that  princess.     On  the  28th 
of  March  .following,   Davison,  after  having  undergone  va- 
rious  examinations,    was   brought  to   his  trial  in   the  star 
chamber,  for  the  contempt  of  which  he  had  been  guilty, 
in  revealing  the  queen's  counsels  to  her  privy  counsellors, 
and  performing  what  he  understood  to  be  the  duty  of  his 
office  in  quality  of  her  secretary.     We  have  several  ac- 
counts of  this  trial,  which,  in  a  variety  of  circumstances, 
differ  from  each  other.     In  this,  however,  they  all  agree, 
that  the  judges,   who  fined  him  ten  thousand  marks,  and 
imprisonment  during  the  queen's  pleasure,  gave  him  a  very 
high  character,  and  declared  him  to  be,  in  their  opinions, 
both  an  able  and  an  honest  man.  One  thing  is  very  remark- 
able, that,  in  the  conclusion  of  this  business,  sir  Christo- 
pher Wray,  chief  justice  of  the  queen's  bench,  told  the 
court,  that  though  the  queen  had  been  offended  with  her 
council,  and  had  left  them   to  examination,  yet  now  she 
for<i-ave  them,  being  satisfied  that  they  were  misled  by  this 
man's  suggestions.     Sir  James  Melvile,  who  wrote  at  that 
time,  and  who  seems  to  have  had  some  prejudice  against 
Davison,  said  very  candidly  and  fairly  upon  this  occasion, 
that  he  was  deceived  by  the  council.     As  soon  as  the  pro- 
ceeding was  over,  the  queen,  to  put  it  out  of  doubt  with 
the  king  of  Scots,  that  his  mother  was  put  to  death  with- 
out her  privity  or  intention,  sent  him  the  judgment  given 
against  Davison,  subscribed  by  those  who  had  given  it,  and 
exemplified    under  the  great  seal,  together   with  another 
instrument,  under  the  hands  of  all  the  judges  of  England, 
that  the  sentence  against  his  mother  could  not  in  the  least 
prejudice  his  title  to  the  succession.     As  for  Mr.  Davison, 
novv  left  to  a  strange  reward  for  his  past  services,  a  long 


DAVISON.  3«9 

imprisonment,  which  reduced  him  to  indigence,  he  com- 
forted himself  with  the  thoughts  of  his  innocence;  and,  to 
secure  his  memory  from  being  blasted  by  that  judgment 
which  had  withered  his  fortune,  he  had  long  before  written 
an  apology  for  his  own  conduct,  which  he  addressed  to 
secretary  Walsinghain,  as  the  man  most  interested  in  it, 
and  who  could  best  testify  whether  what  he  affirmed  was 
truth  or  not.  In  this  he  gave  a  very  clear  and  natural  de- 
tail of  the  transaction  which  cost  him  all  his  sufferings.  It 
is  allowed  by  all  who  have  written  on  this  subject,  and 
especially  by  Camden,  that  he  was  a  very  unhappy,  though 
at  the  same  time  a  very  capable  and  honest  man.  As 
such  we  have  seen  him  recommended  to  queen  Elizabeth 
by  the  treasurer  Burleigh,  and  as  such  he  was  strongly 
recommended  by  the  earl  of  Essex  to  king  James  I.  It 
seems,  that  noble  person  stuck  fast  by  him  under  his  mis- 
fortunes, which  plainly  shews  the  party  to  which  he  had 
always  adhered.  That  lord  lost  no  opportunity  of  soliciting 
the  queen  in  his  favour,  and  never  let  slip  any  occasion  of 
testifying  for  him  the  warmest  and  the  sincerest  afl^ection.  At 
length.  It  seems  he  was  not  altogether  unsuccessful  ;  for 
though,  upon  the  death  of  secretary  Walsingham,  the 
queen  absolutely  rejected  his  motion,  that  Mr.  Davisoa 
should  come  into  his  place,  yet,  afterwards,  it  seems  that 
she  yielded  in  some  degree,  as  plainly  appears  by  the  earl's 
letter  to  king  James.  That  we  are  under  an  incapacity  of 
tracing  him  farther,  is  owing  to  the  profound  silence  of  the 
writers  of  those  times. 

Davison  came  not  suddenly  or  surprisingly  into  his  high 
office,  but  easily,  naturally,  and  gratlually,  in  the  very- 
same  way  that  his  predecessors,  Cecil,  Smith,  and  Wal- 
singham had  done,  and  with  the  general  approbation  of  all 
the  council  ;  and,  as  he  was  no  mean  or  obscure  person 
when  called  to  that  high  employment,  so  he  was  not  given 
to  subserviency,  at  the  peril  of  his  life  and  reputation  ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  star  chamber  sentence,  he  very 
well  knew  how  to  make  his  innocence  plain,  both  to  that 
age  and  to  posterity. 

Mr.  W'hitaker,  in  his  elaborate  work  entitled  "  Mary 
queen  of  Scots  vindicated,"  has  not  forgotten  Eli2abeth's 
conduct  with  regard  to  Davison.  In  the  first  edition  he 
took  proper  notice  of  it,  and  gave  a  general  account  of  toe 
unfortunate  secretary's  apologv.  But  in  the  second  edi- 
tion he  has  inserted  the  apology  at  large,  and  accompg-nied 

Z   2 


340  DAVISON. 

it  with  a  number  of  notes  that  strongly  display  the  unjust 
and  cruel  manner  in  which  Davison  was  treated  by  hi» 
royal  mistress.  The  pointed  observations  of  Mr.  Whita- 
ker's  concluding  note  afford  such  a  correct  view  of  his 
character,  as,  although  somewhat  different  from  the  pre- 
ceding in  the  Biographia  Britannica,  is  probably  nearer 
the  truth. 

"  Let  me  here,    at  the   end  of  the  apology,    remark 
finally   concerning   Davison,   that,   though    he  was  not  an 
honest  man,  yet  he  was  so  nearly  one,  as  to  be  a  very 
prodigy  for  the  ministry  of  Elizabeth.     He  refused,  it  ap- 
pears,   to   sign  that  very  bond  of   association  which  was 
signed  by  all  the  nation,  and  which  even   the   despairing 
Mary  offered,  on  her  liberty  being  granted,  to  sigi>  hex"- 
self.      Yet  he  refused,  though  Leicester  pushed  on  the  as- 
sociation,   and    though    Elizabeth   urged   him   to    sign    it. 
Among  the  pleas  which  he  advances  for  himself  in  his  other 
apology,    he   particularly  states   '  his  former  absolute  re- 
fusal   to    sign   the    band   of    association,    being   earnestly 
pressed  thereunto  by  her  majesty's  self,'   (Robertson,   11. 
483).     This  indeed  is  a  very  strong  evidence  of  a  manly 
virtuousness  in  him.     But  he  did  other  things  in  the  same 
spirit    of   virtue.       He     declined     to    act    as    a   commis- 
sioner on  the  examination  of  Babington  and  his  accomplices 
for  their  conspiracy  in  favour  of  Mary,  and  took  a  journey 
to  Bath,  in  order  to  save  himself  from  acting,   (Robertson, 
IL  483).     He  was  a  means,  too,   of  preventing  the  com- 
missioners who  were  sent  to  try  Mary  at  Fotheringay  castle, 
from   pronouncing  sentence   upon   her  immediately   after 
the  trial,  and  of  obliging  them  to  return  first  to  London, 
and  report  their  proceedings  to  Elizabeth,  (Robertson,  H. 
483).     We  have   already   seen  that  he   kept  the  warrant 
for  the  execution  of  Mary  five  or  six  weeks  in  his  hands, 
without  offering  to  present  it  to  Elizabeth  for  her  signing. 
We  have  equally  seen  that  he  actually  neglected  to  obey  a 
personal  command  of  Elizabeth's  for  bringing  the  warrant 
to   her,  and  that  he  thus  neglected  for  '  many  days,'  even 
till  the  queen  fired  at  his  conduct,  and  sent  him  a  peremp- 
tory order  to  bring  it.     Even  then,  and  even  when  Paulet's 
answer  had  been  received,  and  all  delay  was  now  at  an  end 
for  ever,   he  would  not  be  concerned  in  sending  away  the 
warrant  himself,   but  returned  it  into  the  hands  from  which 
he  had  received  it,  and  left  Cecil  and  the  council  to  send 
it.     And,  as  in  all  the  time  '  before  her  trial,  he  neitlj^er 


DAVISON.  341 

is  nor  can  be  charged,  to  have  had  any  hand  at  all  in  the 
cause  of  the  said  queen,  or  done  any  thing  whatsoever 
concerning  the  same,  directly  or  indirectly,'  so,  *  after 
the  return  thence  of  the  commissioners,  it  is  well  known 
to  all  her  council,  that  he  never  was  at  any  deliberation 
or  meeting  whatsoever,  in  parliament  or  council,  con- 
cerning the  cause  of  the  said  queen,  till  the  sending  down 
of  her  majesty's  warrant  unto  tlie  conmiissioners  by  the 
lords  and  oineis  of  her  council,'    (Robertson,   II.  481). 

"  These  deeds  of  honesty,  no  doubt,  had  successively 
marked  him  out  for  veng'.  ance  to  the  rest  of  the  ministry, 
and  to  the  queen.  He  was  therefore  selected  by  Cecil, 
*  with  her  majesty's  own  privity,'  to  be  the  secretary  with 
whom  the  warrant  should  be  lodged  for  signing,  (Robert* 
son,  II.  481).  He  was  thus  exposed  to  a  train  of  decisive 
trials.  It  would  be  seen  whether  he  offered  to  present  the 
warrant  to  Elizabeth  for  her  signature.  Should  he  not 
offer,  a  command  might  be  given  him  by  Elizabeth  to 
bring  it  up.  Should  he  hesitate  to  obey  this,  a  sharp  re- 
buke and  a  peremptory  order  might  be  sent  him.  If  he 
was  refractory  in  all  these  points,  then  the  wrath  of  Eliza- 
beth would  burst  out  upon  him,  and  sweep  him  away  from 
her  presence  for  ever.  If  he  complied  in  any,  his  farther 
compliance  might  be  tried  in  ordering  him  to  the  great 
seal  with  the  warrant,  and  in  directing  him  to  use  the  war- 
rant, when  sealed,  with  secresy.  Should  he  be  found 
pliable  in  this  trial,  the  grand  scheme  of  assassination,  tho 
favourite  wish  of  Elizabeth's  heart,  which  had  repeatedly- 
been  talked  over  by  her  other  ministers  before  Elizabeth 
and  him,  which  they  all  united  to  approve,  though  none 
of  them  offered  to  undertake,  and  winch  had  been  so  talked 
over  and  so  approved  of,  merely  to  put  Davison  upon  un- 
dertaking it,  might  finally  be  urged  upon  Davison  in  pri^ 
vate  by  Elizabeth  herself.  Should  he  bend  to  this  urgency, 
and  engage  in  the  work  of  assassination,  Elizabeth,  as 
soon  as  ever  the  work  was  done,  would  have  risen  upon 
him  with  an  affected  })assiQn,  and  made  his  life  the  forfeit 
of  his  compliance.  And  should  he  not  bend,  all  his  pre- 
sent, and  all  his  former  refractoriness  would  be  remem- 
bered at  once  aijainst  him,  and  unite  to  draw  down  the 
rage  of  Elizabeth  in  a  storm  of  real  resentment  upon  him. 
Either  way  the  man  was  sure  to  be  ruined.  He  complied, 
though  only  in  part.  He  brought  up  the  warrant  at  tho 
second  order.     He  carried  it  to  the  great  seal.     He  eveu 


343  DAVISON, 

united  with  Walsingham  to  mention  Elizabeth's  proposal 
of  assassination  to  Paulet ;  but  he  would  go  no  farther. 
He  actually  protested  to  Elizabeth  herself  against  the  pro- 
posal before  he  mentioned  it  to  Paulet.  He  protested  to 
her  against  every  scheme  of  assassination.  And  he  was 
therefore  ruined  at  last  by  Elizabeth,  in  a  most  impudent 
stretch  of  falsehood,  for  doing  what  he  did  not  do,  and 
in  truth  and  reality,  for  not  doing  what  he  was  wanted 
to  do." 

<*  Thus  fell  Davison,  a  memorable  evidence  of  the  cun- 
ning, the  perfidiousness,  and  the  barbarity  of  Elizabeth 
and  her  Cecil !  But  he  was  fully  revenged  of  them  both 
in  his  fall.  He  wrote  the  present  apology,  which  serves 
so  greatly  to  expose  the  characters  of  both.  It  is  very 
convincing  in  itself;  is  even  drawn  up  with  the  air  and 
address  of  a  fine  writer,  and  is  peculiarly  valuable  to  the 
critical  investigators  of  Elizabeth's  conduct.  It  differs 
very  psetully  from  that  in  Dr.  Robertson's  Appendix,  in 
being  written  within  the  very  month  of  all  the  main  trans- 
actions recorded  in  it,  and  being  therefore  very  full,  cir- 
cumstantial, and  accurate ;  while  that  was  written  many 
years  afterward,  is  only  general  and  short,  and  is  often  in-^ 
accurc^te.  It  was  not,  however,  as  Camden  says,  a  '  pri- 
vate' apology  sent  to  *  Walsingham,'  (Orig.  i.  465. 
Trans.  39-2).  It  was  evidently  calculated,  as  I  have  shown 
before,  for  the  inspection  of  Elizabeth  herself.  And,  as 
it  would  nfiturally  be  sent  to  his  brother-secretary  for  her 
inspection,  so  was  it  a  bold  challenge  to  her  for  the  truth 
and  exactness  of  all  his  averments,  and  would  serve  only 
to  increase  the  load  already  descending  to  crush  him.  The 
other  was  written,  not  only  when  the  little  particulars  had 
faded  off  from  the  mind,  when  memory  had  confounded 
some  circumstances  that  were  distinct  in  themselves,  and 
9,  regular  narrative,  if  it  could  have  been  given,  was  no 
Jonger  of  consequence  ;  but,  what  is  very  surprizing,  when 
Davison  had  lost  all  copy,  and  even  all  minutes  of  this 
very  apology.  It  w^s  drawn  up,  too,  when  he  was  no 
Jonger  afraid  of  showing  his  forbearance  in  the  cause  of 
Mary,  and  indeed  had  reason  for  displaying  it  all  at  large. 
He  therefore  goes  back  much  farther  in  the  second  apology 
than  in  the  first,  to  the  return  of  Mary's  judges  from  Fo- 
theringay,  to  the  moment  of  her  trial,  to  the  examination 
of  Babuigton,  &c.  and  to  the  times  preceding  all.  In  this 
whole  period  he  shows  ws  his  secret  attachment  \q  Mary, 


DAVISON.  343 

by  such  a  train  of  incidents  as  seems  peculiarly  calculated 
for  the  eye  of  Mary's  son  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  of 
England.  Yet  Elizabeth  must  have  been  alive  at  the 
writing  of  it,  since  she  is  sjjoken  of  as  still  queen  ;  and  I 
therefore  suppose  it  to  be  written  at  the  latter  end  of  Eli- 
zabeth's reigii,  when  all  tne  nation  began  to  turn  their 
eyes  towards  Scotland  for  a  successor  to  her  ;  and  when 
Davison  would  naturally  endeavour  to  make  tliat  attach- 
ment to  Mary,  for  which  he  had  suffered  so  severely  from 
Elizabetb,  promote  his  interest  with  James." 

Francis,  the  secretary's  son,  pubhshed  a  poetical  mis- 
cellany in  1602,  uudtr  the  title  of  a  "Poetical  Rapsodie," 
containing  small  pieces  by  the  compiler  himself,  and  by 
some  friends.  A  second  edition  of  this  appeared  in  1608, 
a  third  in  1611,  and  a  fourth  in  162  I.  Mr.  Ellis  has  ex- 
tracted some  of  these  pieces  in  his  "  Specimens,"  vol.  III.* 

DAUBEMTON  (Louis  John  Maria),  an  eminent  French 
naturalist,  was  born  at  Montbar  in  the  department  of  the 
Cote  D'Or,  May  29,  1716.  His  father,  John  Daubenton, 
was  a  notary  in  that  place,  and  his  mother's  name  was 
Mary  Pichenot.  In  his  youth  he  distinguished  himself  by 
the  sweetness  of  his  temper,  and  by  a  diligent  application 
to  his  studies.  The  Jesuits  of  Dijon,  under  whose  tuition 
he  was  first  placed,  noticed  him  in  a  peculiar  manner. 
Having  gone  through  the  philosophical  course  taught  by 
the  Dominicans  of  Dijon,  his  father,  who  destined  him  for 
the  church,  and  who  had  made  him  assume  the  ecclesias- 
tical dress  at  the  age  of  twelve,  sent  him  to  Paris  to  study 
theology,  but  his  predilection  for  natural  history  induced 
him  privately  to  study  medicine.  Accordingly  he  attended 
the  lectures  of  Baron,  Martiney,  and  Col  de  Vi liars,  and 
likewise  those  of  VVinslow,  Hunault,  and  Anthony  Jussieu, 
in  the  botanic  garden.  The  death  of  his  father,  which 
happened  in  1736,  leaving  him  at  liberty  to  pursue  the 
bent  of  his  own  inclinations,  he  took  his  degrees  at  Rheims 
in  1740  and  1741,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  native 
province,  where,  doubtless,  his  ambition  would  have  been 
for  ever  confined  to  the  practice  of  medicine,  had  not  a 
happy  accident  brought  him  upon  a  more  brilliant  theatre. 

Montbar  had  given  birth,  about  the  same  time,  to  the 
celebrated  Buffon,  a  man  of  a  very  different  character; 
who,    though   possessed    of  an   independent    fortune,   a 

»  Biog.  Brit.  &c. 


344  DAUBENTON. 

robust  constitution,  and  actuated  by  a  violent  passion  for 
pleasure,  had  determined  lo  devote  himself  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  sciences ;  and  of  those,  at  length  to  give  the  pre- 
ference to  natural  history,  which  he  saw  in  its  infancy  and 
rudf  slate,  and  very  justly  conceived  that  every  thing  must 
be  collected,  revised,  and  examined.  Perceiving,  how- 
ever, that  liis  ardent  and  lively  imagination  rendered  him 
unequal  to  such  laborious  and  difficult  researches,  and  even 
that  the  weakness  of  his  sight  excluded  the  hope  of  suc- 
ceeding in  them,  he  endeavoured  to  discover  a  mari,  who, 
besides  a  sound  judgment,  and  a  certain  quickness  of  per- 
ception, should  possess  sufficient  modesty  and  devotedness 
to  induce  him  to  rest  satisfied  with  acting,  in  appearance, 
a  subordinate  part,  and  to  serve  him,  as  it  were,  as  a  hand 
and  an  eye  in  the  prosecution  of  his  undertaking.  Such  a 
man  he  at  last  found  in  Daubenton,  the  companion  of  his 
early  years.  The  character,  however,  of  these  two  philo- 
sophers was  almost  opposite  in  every  respect.  Buffon  was 
violent,  impatient,  rash  :  Daubenton  was  all  gentleness, 
patience,  and  caution  :  Buffon  wished  to  divine  the  truth 
rather  than  to  discover  it:  Daubenton  believed  nothing 
which  he  had  not  himself  seen  and  ascertained :  Buffba 
suffered  his  imagination  to  lead  him  from  nature  ;  Dauben- 
ton, on  the  contrary,  discarded  from  his  writings  every 
expression  which  was  calculated  to  mislead.  They  were 
thus  happily  fitted  to  correct  each  other's  faults.  Accord- 
ingly, the  History  of  Quadrupeds,  which  appeared  while 
they  laboured  together,  is  the  most  exempt  from  error  of 
any  of  the  divisions  which  constitute  Buffon's  Natural 
History, 

About  1742  Buffon  drew  him  to  Paris.  At  that  time, 
the  office  of  keeper  and  demonstrator  of  the  cabinet  of 
natural  history  was  in  a  great  measure  nominal,  and  as 
Koguez,  who  possessed  that  title,  had  been  long  absent, 
his  place  w^s  occasionally  supplied  by  any  one  present. 
By  the  influence  of  Buffon,  this  office  was  revived,  and 
conferred  on  Daubenton  in  1745.  His  salary,  which  at 
first  did  not  exceed  500  francs,  was,  by  degrees,  after- 
wards augmented  to  2000,  or,  as  some  say,  4000.  While 
he  Wfis  only  an  assistant  in  the  academy  of  sciences,  Buf- 
fon, who  dieted  as  its  treasurer,  conferred  upon  him  several 
favours.  On  his  arrival  at  Paris  he  procured  him  a  lodg- 
ing, and  neglected  nothing  in  order  to  secure  to  him  ease 
^nd  independence  j  while  Daubenton  pursued  with  inde- 


DAUBENTON.  345 

fetigablc  industry  those  labours  which  were  necessary  to 
second  the  views  of  his  benelactor,  and  established  by  tliis 
means  the  two  principal  monuments  of  his  own  glory. 

One  of  these  is  the  cabinet  of  natural  history  in  the 
botanical  garJen.  That  before  his  time  served  merely  as 
a  repository  for  the  products  of  the  diHferent  pharmaceuti- 
cal operations,  performed  during  the  public  lectures  on 
chemistry,  in  order  that  they  might  be  distributed  to  the 
poor  while  suffering  under  disease.  It  contained  nothing 
appertaining  to  natural  history,  strictly  so  called,  except  a 
collection  of  shells  made  by  I'ournefort,  which  had  after- 
wards been  employed  to  amuse  Lewis  XV.  during  his  in- 
fancy; but  such  was  the  industry  of  Daubenton,  that, 
within  a  few  years,  he  collected  specimens  of  minerals, 
fruits,  woods,  shells,  from  every  quarter,  and  methodically 
arranged  them.  By  applying  himself  to  ascertain,  or  to 
improve  the  operations  necessary  to  preserve  the  different 
parts  of  organized  bodies,  he  succeeded  in  giving  to  the 
inanimate  forms  of  quadrnpeds  and  birds  the  appearance 
of  real  life  ;  and  presented  to  the  naturalist  the  most  mi- 
nute circumstances  of  their  characters,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  no  less  gratified  the  virtuosi  by  exhibiting  them  in 
their  natural  forms  and  colours. 

Availing  himself  of  the  patronage  of  Buffon,  and  of  his 
influence  with  the  government,  Daubenton  soon  formed 
and  executed  a  very  extensive  plan  :  he  conceived  that  all 
the  productions  of  nature  should  tind  a  place  in  the  temple 
he  had  consecrated  to  her;  he  was  fully  aware  that  those 
objects  which  are  regarded  as  the  most  important,  could 
only  be  thoroughly  known  by  a  comparison  of  them  with 
others  ;  and  that  there  existed  no  one  that  had  not  a  greater 
or  less  affinity  with  the  rest  of  nature.  Impressed  with  this 
view  of  the  subject,  he  made  the  most  unremitting  efforts 
to  render  his  collection  complete  ;  whilst  at  the  same  time 
he  bestowed  the  greatest  attention  on  the  formation  of 
those  anatomical  jireparations  which  for  a  long  time  distin- 
guished the  cabinet  of  Paris,  and  which,  however  disa- 
greeable they  may  be  to  the  common  eye,  are  not  the  le.«;$ 
useful  to  those  who  wish  to  penetrate  beyond  the  move 
suri"ace  of  oro-anized  beings,  and  who  endeavour  to  render 
natural  history  a  philosophical  science,  by  illustrating  the 
phenomena  it  exhibits. 

The  study  and  arrangement  of  these  productions  en- 
grossed his  whole  attention,  and  seemed  to  constitute  the 


346  D  A  U  B  E  N  T  O  N. 

only  passion  he  ever  experienced.  Shut  up  for  whole  days 
in  the  cabinet,  he  incessantly  occupied  himself  in  chano-iiio- 
the  disposition  of  the  objects  he  had  accumulated,  till  by  a 
scrupulous  investigation  of  their  several  parts,  and  attempt- 
ing every  possible  method,  he  fell  upon  that  arrangement 
which  was  equally  consonant  to  true  taste  and  accurate 
science.  This  passion  for  arrangement  was  again  revived 
in  full  force  during  his  latter  years ;  when,  in  consequence 
of  victories  obtained  by  the  republican  arms,  there  was 
brought  to  the  museum  a  fresh  store  of  natural  curiosities, 
and  when  circumstances  permitted  him  to  give  to  the  whole 
a  more  complete  illustration.  At  eighty-four  years  of  age, 
when  he  stooped  much,  and  both  his  hands  and  feet  had 
suffered  greatly  from  the  gout,  not  being  able  to  walk 
without  assistance,  he  was  conducted  by  two  persons  tvery 
morning  to  the  cat)inet,  in  order  to  superintend  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  minerals,  the  only  department  allotted  to 
him  according  to  ihe  new  organization  of  the  establishment. 
The  second  monument  that  Daubenton  has  left  behind 
him,  and  which  must  ever  perpetuate  his  name,  is  his 
Description  of  Quadrupeds.  It  must,  however,  afford  a 
subject  of  regret  to  every  lover  of  science,  that  some  cir- 
cumstances prevented  him  from  extending,  as  was  his  ori- 
ginal intention,  that  description  to  all  the  productions  con- 
tained in  the  cabinet  of  natural  history.  It  is  not  now  our 
business  to  analyze  the  descriptive  part  of  the  Natural  His- 
tory, a  work  as  immense  in  its  details  as  astonishing  in  the 
boldness  of  the  plan,  nor  to  characterize  the  new  and  im- 
portant improvements  introduced  by  him  into  this  depart- 
ment of  science.  It  may  be  sufficient,  in  order  to  convey 
some  idea  of  the  immensity  of  that  work,  to  observe,  that 
it  comprehends  not  only  the  external  characters,  but  the 
internal  description  of  one  hundred  and  eightj-two  species 
of  quadrupeds,  of  which  fifty-eight  had  never  been  dis- 
sected, and  thirteen  were  absolutely  non-descripts.  It 
contains,  moreover,  the  external  description  of  twenty-six 
species,  five  of  which  were  wholly  unknown.  The  number 
of  new  species  there  described  by  him  is  eighteen  ;  but  the 
pew  and  interesting  facts  which  he  has  brought  forward 
respecting  those  species  of  which  we  had  only  before  a  very 
superficial  knowledge,  are  extremely  numerous.  The 
greatest  merit  of  the  work,  however,  consists  in  the  order 
snd  disposition  with  which  all  the  species  are  described.  It 
delighted  the  author  to  repeat,  that  he  was  the  first  who  had 


D  A  U  B  E  N  T  O  N.  347 

established  an  accurate  system  of  comparative  anatomy  ;  the 
truth  of  which  must  certainly  be  aclinitted,  in  this  sense,  that 
as  all  his  observations  were  conducted  upon  one  uniform 
plan,  and  equally  extended  to  every  animal,  it  is  extremely 
easy  to  comprehend  their  reciprocal  relations ;  that,  as  he 
was  never  biassed  by  any  preconceived  liypotiiesis,  he  has 
bestowed  an  equal  attention  upon  every  part,  and  in  no 
instance  ever  oiriitted  or  concealed  what  could  not  be  re- 
conciled to  his  own  system.  Tins  work  of  Daubenton  may 
be  considered  as  a  rich  mine,  which  all  who  devote  them- 
selves to  similar  pursuits,  find  it  necessary  to  explore,  and 
of  which  many  have  profited  without  due  acknowledgment. 
Nothing  more  is  frequently  necessary  than  to  exhibit  a  ge- 
neral view  of  his  observations,  and  to  place  them  under 
different  heads,  in  order  to  obtain  results  highly  interest- 
ing :  it  is  in  this  sense  that  we  must  understand  the  ex- 
pression of  the  celebrated  Camper,  "  that  Daubenton  was 
unconscious  of  all  the  discoveries  of  which  he  was  the 
author." 

This  work  procured  for  Daubenton  a  very  high  reputa- 
tion, and  drew  upon  him  the  envy  of  Reaumur,  who  at 
that  time  considered  himself  as  at  the  hetid  of  natural 
history.  But  the  credit  and  reputation  of  Buffon  was  suf- 
ficient to  prevent  his  friend  from  falling  a  victim  to  the 
•  attack  of  this  formidable  antagonist. 

It  gives  us  a  very  unfavourable  idea  of  Buffon  that  after 
this  he  should  himself  commence  the  enemy  of  Daubenton. 
He  was,  however,  weak  enough  to  listen  to  some  parasites, 
who  persuaded  him  that  it  would  redound  greatly  to  his 
honour  to  dismiss  his  associate  ;  and,  accordingly,  Buifon 
actually  published  a  new  edition  of  his  Natural  History,  in 
13  volumes,  12mo,  in  which  are  omitted  not  only  the  ana- 
tomy, but  even  the  external  characters,  of  the  animals 
which  Daubenton  had  furnished  for  the  large  edition;  and 
as  nothing  was  substituted  in  their  stead,  the  work  exhi- 
bits no  idea  of  the  form,  colour,  or  distinctive  attributes 
of  the  animals  ;  so  that  this  small  edition  cannot  supply 
any  data  whereby  to  ascertain  the  animals  to  which  the 
author  alludes,  especially  as  they  are  not  to  be  found  either 
in  Pliny,  or  Aristotle,  wlio  likewise,  as  is  well  known, 
neglected  the  descriptive  details. 

BulTon  moreover  determined  not  to  avail  himself  of  his 
aid  in  the  works  he  had  projected  on  ornithology  and  mi- 
neralogy.    Independently  of  this  insult,  Daubenton  sus- 


343  D  A  U  B  E  N  T  O  N. 

tained  a  loss  of  12,000  francs  yearly.     He  might  indeed 
have  complained,  hut  it  would  necessarily  have  emhroiled 
'  him    with   the   intendant  of  the  king's  garden,  and  forced 
him  lo  resign  the  supenntendance  of  the  cabinet  he  had 
formed,  and  to  which  lie  was  as   much  attached  as  to  life; 
overlooking,  therelore,   this   injnrious   treatment,    he  con- 
tinued to   pursuf'    his    former   occupations.     The ,  regret 
which  all  naturalists  testified  when  the  first  part  of  his  Or- 
nithology made  its  appearance  without  being  accompanied 
by  those  accurate  descriptions  and  anatomical  details  which 
they  estimated  so  highly,  served,  however,  to  console  him. 
He  would  still  have  felt  more  chagrin  if  his  attachment  for 
the  great  man   who   uegLcted  him  had  not  yielded  to  his 
self-love  when  he  beheld  the  first  volumes,  to  which  Gue- 
neau   de  Montheliard  did   not  contribute,  filled  with  inac- 
curacies, and  destitute  of  all  those  particulars  which  it  was 
impossible  for  Butfon  to  supply.     All  this  was  still   more 
manifest  in  the  supplements — the  productions  of  Buffon 
in  his  old  age  ;  and  in  which  he  carried  his  injustice  so  far 
as  to  employ  a  common   draughtsman,  for   the  part  which 
Daubeiuon  had   so  well  executed  in  the  former  volumes. 
Hence   many    naturalists  have  endeavoured  to  supply  this 
void ;  and,  among  others,  the  celebrated  Pallas  took  Dau- 
benton    for   a  model   in  his  Miscellanies  and    Zoological 
Gleanings,  as  well   as  in   his  History  of  Rodentia;  works 
which  must  be  considered  as  real  supplements  to  Buftbn  ; 
and,  next  to  his  large  work,  the  best  on  quadrupeds.     It 
is  well  known  how  successfully  La  Cepede,  the  illustrious 
continualor  of  Buff(,n,  and  who   w^as  also  the  friend  and 
colleague  of  Daubenton,  whose  loss  he  equally  bewails  with 
ourselves,  has  united  in  his  works  on  ichthyology  and  rep- 
tiles a  rich  and  brilliant  style  with  the  mo.st  scrupulous  ac- 
curacy  of  descr'ption  ;  and   how  well  he  has  supplied  the 
province  of  his  two  predecessors.      Daubenton  so  far  for- 
got the  injurious  treatment  he  had  received  from  Buffon, 
that  he  afterwards  contributed  to  several  parts  of  the  natu- 
ral history,  although  his  name  does  not  appear;   and  there 
exist  proofs  that    when   Buffon    composed  his   History  of 
Minerals,   he  derived  much  assistance  from  the  mauuscript 
of  his  lecturts  delivered  in  the  French  college.     Their  in- 
timacy, notwiihstaiiding  the  interruption  from  the  circum- 
stance  before   mentioned,   was  even   fully  re-established, 
a|)d  continued  to  be  maintained  to  the  death  of  Buffon. 
It  was  not  in  the  power  of  Daubenton  to  furnish  many 


D  A  U  B  E  N  T  O  N.  349 

memoirs  to  the  academy  of  sciences  during  the  eiofhtecri 
years  in  which  the  fifteen  volumes  in  quarto  of  the  "  His- 
tory of  Quadrupeds"  successively  appeared  ;  l)ut  he  aiter- 
wards  fully  compensated  for  tliis,  by  suppiyinj^  not  only 
the  academy,  but  also  the  medical  and  agricultural  societies, 
and  the  national  institute,  with  a  great  number  of  papers, 
all  of  which  contain,  as  well  as  the  works  he  published 
separately,  many  interesting  facts  and  original  observa- 
tions. His  experiments  on  agriculture  and  rural  crconomy 
were,  however,  of  more  service  to  him  aftervvartls  than  all 
the  rest  of  liis  labours,  on  account  of  the  reputation  among 
the  populace  which  they  had  procured  him.  h)  1784  he 
published  "  Instructions  for  Shepherds  and  Proprietors  of 
Flocks,"  and  was  the  means  of  introducing  an  improved 
breed  of  sheep  into  France.  His  experiments  on  this  sub- 
ject were  begun  about  1766,  and  the  object  of  his  constant 
pursuits,  in  which  he  was  encouraged  by  successive  ad- 
ministrations, and  in  which  he  eminently  succeeded,  was 
to  demonstrate  the  bad  effects  of  confining  sheep  in  stables 
during  the  night,  and  the  utility  of  allowing  them  to  range 
at  large;  to  atten)pt  different  means  of  improving  their 
breed;  to  point  out  how  to  determine  the  different  qua- 
lities of  the  wool ;  to  discover  the  mechanism  of  rumination, 
and  thence  to  deduce  some  useful  conclusions  respecting 
the  temperament  of  wool -bearing  animals,  as  well  as  with 
regard  to  the  mode  of  rearing  and  feeding  them  ;  to  dis- 
seminate the  produce  of  his  sheep-fold  throughout  every 
province;  to  distribute  his  rams  to  all  the  proprietors  of 
flocks ;  to  manufacture  woollen-cloth  from  his  own  raw 
material,  with  tlie  view  of  convincing  the  most  prejudiced 
of  its  superiority  ;  to  form  intelligent  shepherds  in  order 
that  they  might  propagate  his  method,  and  to  render  his 
instructions  intelligible  to  all  classes'  of  as^riculturists. 

By  these  labours  he  had  acquired  a  kind  of  popularity 
which  proved  very  useful  to  liim  in  a  dangerous  crisis. 
During  the  second  year  of  the  revolution,  when  it  was  left 
for  an  ia:norant  multitude  to  decide  on  the  fate  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  virtuous  of  men,  the  venerable  octogenarian 
Daubenton  found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
situation  which  he  had  filled  with  so  much  crtridit  to  himself 
during  a  period  of  fifty  years,  to  solicit  from  the  section  of 
Sans  Culottes  a  certificate  of  his  civism.  It  was  then  scarcely 
possible  for  a  professor,  or  an  academician,  to  obtain  one; 
but  some  sensible  persons  who  intermingled  with   the  po- 


350  D  A  U  B  E  N  T  O  N. 

pulace  in  the  hope  of  moderating  their  fury,  presented  him 
under  the  appellation  of  the  Shepherd  ;  and  it  was  thus  the 
shepherd  Daubenton  procureU  the  necessary  certificate* 
as  director  of  the  museum  of  natural  history.  This  paper 
is  still  preserved,  and  may  serve  as  a  curious  proof  of  the 
degraded  state  of  France  at  that  period. 

Besides  his  puhlications,  Daubenton  was  of  great  ser- 
vice to  science  as  a  lecturer.  From  1775  he  gave  lectures 
on  natural  history  in  the  college  of  medicine.  In  1783  he 
lectured  on  rural  ceconomy.  He  was  appointed  professor 
of  mineralog}'  by  the  Convention  at  the  garden  of  plants, 
and  he  gave  lectures  during  the  short  existence  of  what 
was  called  the  Normal  school.  He  was  likewise  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  **  Journal  des  Savans,"  and  contributed 
to  both  the  Encyclopcedias.  As  a  lecturer  he  was  ex- 
tremely popular,  and  retained  his  popularity  to  the  last. 

Notwithstanding  the  feebleness  of  his  constitution,  he 
arrived  at  a  very  advanced  age  without  much  disease,  or 
loss  of  his  faculties.  This  may  be  in  some  measure  as- 
cribed to  the  gentleness  of  his  temper,  and  his  remarkable 
resignation.  He  varied  his  studies  also  by  frequently 
reading  amusing  books  of  the  lighter  kind.  In  1799,  he 
was  named  a  member  of  the  Conservative  Senate,  and 
was  anxious  to  fulfil  his  new  duties  as  he  had  formerly  ful- 
fiilled  all  those  with  which  he  was  charged  ;  he  was  forced 
to  make  some  change  in  his  usual  dress,  and  the  weather 
beino-  extremely  rigorous,  the  first  time  he  assisted  at  the 
sitting  of  that  body,  of  which  he  had  become  a  mem- 
ber, he  was  struck  with  an  apoplexy,  and  fell  senseless 
into  the  arms  of  his  colleagues :  the  most  prompt  means 
were  employed  to  afford  him  relief,  but  he  only  recovered 
his  recollection  for  a  short  period,  during  which  he  evinced 
the  same  character  as  that  he  had  uniformly  displayed 
throu'rhout  life.    With  the  utmost  calmness,  observing  the 

•  Copy  of  the   certificate  of  Dau-  self  as  a  worthy  ami  good  citizen,  the 

benton's  civism.  General  Assembly  unanimously  decree. 

Section  of  Sans  Culottes.  that  he  shall  rtceive   a  certificate  of 

Copy  ot  the  extract  of  the  delibera-  civism,  and    that    the   president,    at- 

tionsoftheGeneral  Assembly  convened  tended    by    several  nieuibers   of   the 

on  the  5th  of  the  1st  decade,  in  the  aforesaid  assembly,  shall  give  him  the 

third  moiuh  of  the  seci)n«l  ytar  of  the  fraternal  embrace,  with  every  mark  of 

French  Republic,  one  an<l  mdivisible.  honour  due  to   tbat  virtuous  and  hu- 

"  As  it  appears  from  the  report  made  mane   conduct  which  he  has  displayed 

by  the  fraternal  society  of  the  section  on  various  occasions. 

of  Sans    Culottes,    thai    the   shepherd  (Signed)  "  R.  G.  Dardel,  president." 

Daubemoa  has  always  conducted  him-  A  true  copy.  (Signed)  "JJuMOHT.sec." 


D  A  U  B  E  N  T  O  N.  351 

progress  of  his  disease,  he  pointed  out  to  his  friends  the 
different  parts  of  his  body  which  were  siill  sensible,  and 
unaffected  by  paralysis.  He  expired  without  a  struggle  on 
January  1,  1800,  and  was  interred  with  the  funeral  honours 
due  to  the  high  character  he  supported  among  his  coun- 
try nieu.' 

DAUBENTON  (William),  a  French  Jesuit,  of  some 
fame,  was  born  at  Auxerre  October  21,  1648,  and  after 
performing  his  novitiate,  became  a  member  of  the  society 
of  Jesuits  at  Nancy  in  1683.  After  preaching  with  much 
success  for  some  time,  his  health  obliged  him  to  desist, 
and  he  was  chosen  companion  or  assistant  of  the  provincial. 
He  was  afterwards  elected  rector  of  the  college  of  Stras- 
burgh,  and  promoted  to  be  provincial  of  Champagne. 
He  would  have  been  advanced  to  another  ecclesiastical  (jo- 
vernment,  had  not  Louis  XIV.  requested  that  he  might 
continue  in  the  college  of  Strasburgh,  more  effectually  to 
establish  some  regulations  which  he  had  begun  when  first 
appointed  rector.  In  1700  the  king  appointed  him  con- 
fessor to  Philip  V.  of  Spain,  and  he  remained  in  high  fa- 
vour with  that  prince  until  the  courtiers,  grown  jealous  of 
iiis  power,  prevailed  upon  the  king  to  send  hini  from  the 
court  in  1706.  He  was,  however,  recalled  again  in  1716^ 
and  being  reinstated  in  his  office,  gained  a  still  greater 
ascendancy  over  the  mind  of  Philip  V.  This  prince,  when 
disgusted  with  his  throne,  and  wishing  to  abdicate  it,  con- 
fided his  design  to  Daubenton,  who  is  said  to  have  betrayed 
the  secret  to  the  duke  of  Orleans,  which  conduct  ter- 
minated in  his  disgrace  a  second  time,  but  the  manner  of 
ft  is  variously  represented  by  historians.  He  died,  how- 
ever, in  1723-  His  character  is  doubtful,  some  maintain- 
ing that  he  was  a  man  of  intrigue,  and  others  that  he  made 
no  improper  use  of  his  talents  or  influence.  His  works 
consist  chiefly  of  funeral  orations,  and  a  life  of  St.  Francis 
Regis,  Paris,  1716,  4to,  which  t\'as  translated  and  pub- 
lished in  English,  Lond.  1738,  8vo,  a  work  full  of  absurd 
miracles.  He  published  likewise  a  more  enlarged  account 
of  the  merits  of  this  saint,  entitled  "  Scripta  varia  in  causa 
beatificationis  et  canoni^ationis  J,  F.  Regis,"  Rome, 
1710  and  1712,   2  vols.  foho.  ^ 

DAUBUZ  (Charles),  a  learned  French  protestant  di- 
vine, was  born  about  1670,  and  came  to  England  on   the 

*  Life  by  Cuyier  ia  the  Memoirs  of  the  Institute.        «  Moreri, — -Diet.  Hist. 


352  D  A  U  B  U  Z. 

revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz.  Of  his  history  we  hav6 
only  a  short  memorandum  in  MS.  by  Mr.  Whiston,  who 
supposes  that  he  died  in  1740.  He  wrote  "  Pro  Testi- 
nonio  Josephi  de  JesU  Christo,  contra  Tan.  Fabrum  et 
alios,"  Lond.  1700,  8vo ;  and  a  *'  Commentary  on  the  Re- 
velation of  St.  John,"  17  12,  folio.  This  was,  in  1730, 
published  by  Peter  Lancaster,  vicar  of  Bowden  in  Cheshire, 
under  the  title  of  "  A  Perpetual  Commentary,  &c.  newly 
modelled,  abridged,  and  rendered  plain  to  the  meanest 
capacities."  Mr.  Daubuz  is  here  said  to  have  been  vicar 
of  Brotherton  in  Cheshire.  Mr.  Whiston  adds  that  he  had 
a  son,  a  clergyman,  also  beneficed  in  Yorkshire,  near  Fer- 
rybridge, a  studious  man,  who  lived  in  obscurity,  and  died 
a  bachelor  about  1752.* 

DAUMIUS  (Christian),  an  eminent  classical  and  phi- 
lological scholar,  was  born  March  29,  1612,  at  Zwickau, 
became  regent  of  the  college  in  that  place  1642,  and 
rector  of  the  same  1662,  which  office  he  discharged  with 
great  credit  till  his  death,  December  16,  1687.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his  age  ;  he  understood 
Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  the  Turkish,  French,  Italian,  Spa- 
nish, and  Bohemian  languages,  and  had  a  complete  know- 
ledge of  Arabic.  Besides  editions  of  several  works,  which 
aftbrd  a  testimony  of  his  industry  and  superior  talents,  he 
left  "Letters,"  Jena,  1670,  4to ;  Dresden,  1697,  8vo; 
Chemnits,  1709,  8vo,  all  different :  some  poems  and  dis- 
sertations, as,  "  Traciatus  de  causis  amissarum  Linguae 
Latinae  radicum,"  1642,  Svo  ;  and  in  the  *'  Systema  Dis- 
sert, rar."  of  Gracvius,   Utrecht,  1701,  4to.  " 

DAUN  (Leopold  Count),  a  celebrated  Austrian  gene- 
ral, prince  of  Tiano,  knight  of  the  golden  fleece,  and  of 
the  order  of  Maria  Theresa,  field  marshal,  minister  of  state, 
and  president  of  the  Aulic  council  of  war,  was  born  in  1 705, 
of  an  ancient  and  illustrious  family.  He  was  colonel  of  a 
regiment  of  infantry  in  1740,  and  distinguished  himself  in 
the  war  which  Maria  Theresa  carried  on  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  dominions  which  were  left  her  by  Charles  VL 
The  succeeding  war  procured  him  a  still  more  brilliant 
fame.  Piince  Charles  of  Lorraine  being  besieged  in 
Prague,  Daun,  at  the  head  of  an  army  collected  in  haste, 
took  the  resolution  to  force  the  enemy  to  raise  the  siege, 

*   MS.  Whiston,  in  his  copy  of  the  fust  edition  of  this  Dictionary. 
2  -Moreri. — Niccion,  Vol.  XXX. 


D  A  U  N.  353 

gave  battle  to  the  king  of  Prussia  at  Chotchemitch,  the 
18th  of  June,  1757,  and  gained  a  complete  victory.  It 
was  on  this  occasion  that  the  empress- queen  instituted  the 
military  order  that  bears  her  name.  The  battle  of  Hoch- 
kirchen,  in  1758,  added  fresh  laurels  to  those  of  the  de- 
liverer of  Prague.  In  1758,  by  a  series  of  judicious  move- 
ments he  delivered  Olmutz,  and  attacked  the  Prussians  iu 
1759  at  Pirna,  took  the  whole  army  commanded  by  gene- 
ral Finck,  and  made  them  prisoners  of  war.  He  had  not 
the  same  success  at  Siplitz  near  Torgau,  in  1760,  where 
the  enemy,  after  the  marshal  had  been  obliged  to  retire 
from  the  field  on  account  of  a  dangerous  wound,  gained 
the  superiority.  This  was  followed  by  the  peace  of  Hu- 
bertsbourg  in  1763.  He  died  at  Vienna,  the  5th  of  Feb- 
ruary 1766,  with  the  reputation  of  an  experienced,  brave, 
circumspect  general,  humane  and  compassionate,  uniting 
the  virtues  of  the  Christian  with  those  of  tlie  soldier.  Oc- 
casions where  prudence  was  more  necessary  than  activity, 
were  particularly  favourable  to  him.  His  perceptions  were 
quick  and  sure  ;  but,  when  the  urgency  of  the  moment 
excluded  maturity  of  reflection,  he  found  it  difficult  to 
take  a  vigorous  determination.  Accordingly  his  victories 
were  often  without  effect,  and  the  vanquished,  by  bold 
and  rapid  manoeuvres,  sometimes  were  enabled  almost  in- 
stantly to  repair  their  defeat.' 

DAUNOIS  (Countess).     See  AUNOY. 

DAURAT,  or  DORAT,  in  Latin  Auratus  (John),  an 
eminent  French  poet,  was  born  near  the  head  of  the 
"Vienne,  in  the  Limousin,  about  1507.  Removing  to  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom  to  finish  his  studies,  he  distinguished 
himself  in  such  a  manner  by  his  skill  in  Greek,  and  his 
talent  at  poetry,  that  he  became  one  of  the  professors  of 
the  university  of  Paris.  In  1560  he  succeeded  John  Stra- 
cellus  in  the  post  of  king's  reader  and  professor  of  Greek ; 
but  before  this  he  had  been  principal  of  the  college  of 
Coqueret,  and  tutor  to  John  Antony  de  Baif,  in  the  house 
of  his  father  Lazarus  de  Baif,  who  was  master  of  the  re- 
quests. He  continued  to  instruct  this  young  pupil  in  the 
college  of  Coqueret ;  and  he  had  also  the  famous  Ronsard 
for  his  scholar  there,  during  the  space  of  seven  years.  His 
highest  praise  is,  that  his  school  produced  a  great  number  of 
able  men  ;  but  impruden .  generosity  and  want  of  manage- 
ment reduced  him  to  poverty,  and  procured  him  a  place  in 

»  Diet.  Hist, 

Vol.  XI.  A  A 


354  D  A  U  R  A  T. 

the  list  of  those  learned  men,  whose  talents  have  been  of 
little  benefit  to  themselves.     In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  be  had 
been  preceptor  to  the  kind's  pages ;  and  Charles  IX.   ho- 
noured him  with  the  title  of  his  poet,  took  great  delight  in 
conversing  with  him,  and  endeavoured  to  support  him  in  his 
old  age.     It  will  not  now  be  thought  much  in  his  favour  that 
Daurat  had  an  uncommon  partiality  for  anagrams,  of  which 
he  was  the  first  restorer.     It  is  pretended,  that  he  found  the 
model  of  them  in  Lycophron,  and  brought  them  so  much  into 
vogue,  that  several  illustrious  persons  gave  him  their  names 
to  anagrammatise.     He  undertook  also  to  explain  the  cen- 
turies of  Nostradamus,  and  with  such  imposing  plausibility 
as  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  his  interpreter  or  sub- 
prophet.     When  he  was  near  80,  having  lost  his  first  wife, 
he  married  a  young  girl ;  and  by  her  had  a  son,  for  whom 
he  shewed  his  fondness  by  a  thousand  ridiculous  actions. 
In  excuse  for  this  marriage,  he  said  that  he  would  rather 
die  by  a  bright  sword  than  a  rusty  one.     He  had  by  his 
first  wife,  among  other  children,  a  son,  who  was  the  author 
of  some  French  verses,  printed  in  a  collection  of  his  owa 
poems ;  and  a  daugliter,  whom  he  married  to  a  learned 
man,  named  Nicolas  Goulu,  in  whose  favour  he  resigned 
his  place  of  regius  professor  of  Greek.     He  wrote  a  great 
many  verses  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  French,  in  some  of  which 
he  attacked  the  protestants ;  and  no  book  was  printed,   nor 
did  any  person  of  consequence  die,   without  his  producing 
some  verses  on  the  subject ;  as  if  he  had  been   poet  in 
ordinary  to  the  kingdom,  or  his  muse  had  been  a  general 
mourner.     The  odes,  epigrams,  hymns,   and  other  poems 
in  Greek  and  Latin,  composed  by  Daurat,  have  been  esti- 
mated at  the  gross  sum  of  50,000  verses  ;  Scaliger  had 
such  an  opinion  of  him  as  a  critic,  that  he  said  he  knew 
none  but  him  and  Cujacius,  who  had  abilities  sufficient  to 
restore  ancient  authors  ;  but   he  has  presented  the  public 
with   no  specimen  of  that  talent,   except  some  remarks  on 
the  Sybilline  verses  in  Opsopeeus's  edition.     Scaliger  telb 
lis,  with  some  ridicule,  however,  tliat  he  spent  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  in  endeavouring  to  find  all  the  Bible  in 
Homer.      He  died  at  Paris,    Nov.  1,    1588,   aged  8L.      His 
principal  collection  of  verses  is  entitled   **  Joannis  Aurati, 
Lemovicis,  Poetje  et  interpretis  regii,  Poematia,  hoc  est, 
Poematum  libri  quinque;   Epigrammatum  libri  tres  ;  Ana- 
grammatum  liber  unus  ;  Funerum  liber  unus;  Odarum  libri 
duoj   Kpithalamiorum   liber  unus;  Eclogarum   libri   duo; 


D  A  U  R  A  T.  355 

Vat'iarum  ferum  liber  Unus,"  Paris,  1586,  8vo,  a  ver}'  sin- 
gular collection,  although  of  no  great  merit  as  to  taste  or 
versification.  He  deserves  more  praise  as  one  of  the  re- 
vivers of  Greek  literature  in  France,  and  in  that  character 
his  memory  was  honoured,  in  1775,  by  an  eloge,  written 
by  the  abbe  Vitrac,  professor  of  humanity  at  Limoges.' 

DAU8QUK,  or  DAUSQUEIUS  (Claudius),  a  learned 
Jesuit,  was  born  at  St.  Omer's  in  1366,  and  became  canon 
of  Tournay,  where  he  died  Jan.  17,  1644.  He  was  an  ex- 
cellent Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and  a  good  critic,  but 
wrote  in  an  affected  and  obscure  style.  Some  of  his  works 
are  still  valued,  although  their  rarity  prevents  their  being 
generally  known.  Among  these  are,  1.  "  Antiqui  novi- 
que  Latii  Orthographica,"  Tournay,  1632,  fol.  Of  this 
there  is  a  pretended  Paris  edition  of  1677,  which  is  pre- 
cisely the  same,  with  a  new  title-page  and  date.  2.  *'  Terra 
et  aqua,  sen  terras  Huctuantes,"  Tournay,  1633,  4to ;  of 
this  there  are  also  copies  of  Paris,  1677,  with  only  a  new 
title.  The  small  floating  isles  near  St.  Omer's  furnished 
the  idea  of  this  work,  in  which  there  are  many  .curious  ob- 
servations on  marine  productions.  He  also  translated  into 
Latin,  the  "  Orations  of  St.  Basil  of  Seleucia,"  with  notes, 
1604,  8vo;  and  published  an  edition  of  Quintus  Calaber, 
1614,  8vo,  and  some  other  works,  theological  and  critical, 
which  are  enumerated  in  our  authorities.* 

DAWES  (Lancelot),  a  learned  English  divine,  was 
born  in  1580,  at  Barton-Kirk  in  Westmoreland,  and  be- 
came a  student  in  Queen's  college,  Oxford,  in  1597,  and 
when  B.  A.  was  made  tabarder,  and  in  1605,  master  of 
arts  and  fellow.  At  college  he  was  of  a  retired  studious 
disposition,  and  accounted  an  ornament  to  the  society. 
Havins  taken  orders,  he  was  beneficed  at  Barton-kirk,  and 
afterwards  presented  to  a  prebend  of  Carlisle.  About  the 
same  time  he  received  the  degree  of  D.  D.  from  the  uni- 
versity of  St.  Andrew's,  and  was  promoted  to  the  rectory  of 
Ashby  in  Westmoreland.  He  was  much  esteemed  for 
learning,  and  talents  in  preaching,  of  which  he  published 
a  specimen  in  *'  Sermons  preached  upon  several  occa- 
sions," London,  1653.  He  died  in  the  month  of  February 
in  the  same  year,  and  was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  Barton- 
kirk.     His  character  was  honoured   by  verses  in   Greek, 

*  Moreri  in  Dorat. — Niceron,  vol.  XXVL — Gen.  Diet. — Baillet  Jug:emens. 

*  Fopoen,  Bibl.  Belg. — Moreri. — Gen.  Diet. — Baiikt    J ugemens.— Clement 
Bibl.  Curieuiie.-i^SaxJi  Onomast, 

A  .'V   2 


356  D  A  W  E  Si» 

Latin,  and  English,  by  Tully,  Williamson,  and  Ellis,  three 
scholars  of  Queen's." 

DAWES  (Richard),  a  learned  critic,  especially  in  the 
Greek  tongue,  was  born  in  1708.  A  respectable  family  of 
the  name  of  Dawes  had  long  been  situatt-d  at  Stapieton, 
between  Market-Bosworth  and  Hinckley  in  Leicestershire, 
and  our  critic  was  probably  of  the  same  family,  but  it  does 
not  appear,  from  the  register  of  the  parish,  that  he  was 
born  at  that  place.  There  was  a  Dr.  Dawes,  who,  early 
in  the  last  century,  resided  at  Stapieton,  and  was  a  great 
scholar,  and  a  searcher  after  the  philosopher's  stone.  It 
has  been  supposed,  that  he  might  be  father  to  the  subject 
of  the  present  article  ;  but  of  this  fact  no  decisive  evidence 
can  be  produced.  All  the  traditions  concerning  Richard 
Dawes  are,  that  the  place  of  his  birth  was  either  Market- 
Bosworth,  or  the  vicinity  of  that  town.  Whoever  his 
parents  were,  or  whatever  was  their  condition  in  life,  it  is 
probable  that  they  perceived  such  marks  of  capacity  in 
their  son,  as  determined  them  to  devote  him  to  a  literary 
profession  ;  and  accordingly  he  was  put  to  the  free  gram- 
mar-school at  Bosworth,  where  he  had  the  happiness  of 
receiving  part  of  his  education  under  the  care  of  Mr.  An- 
thony Blackwall.  Here  he  laid  the  foundation  of  that  cri- 
tical knowledge  of  the  Greek  language  which  he  afterwards 
displayed  so  conspicuously.  In  1725,  he  was  admitted  a 
sizar  of  Emanuel  college,  in  the  university  of  Cambridge, 
where  he  proceeded  bachelor  of  arts  in  1729.  On  the  2d 
of  October,  1731,  he  became  a  fellow  of  the  college  on 
the  nomination  of  sir  Wolston  Dixie,  bart.  In  1733,  he 
took  the  degree  of  master  of  arts.  The  next  year  he  was 
a  candidate  for  the  place  of  esquire  beadle  of  the  univer- 
sity, but  his  application  was  not  crowned  with  success. 
Whilst  Mr.  Dawes  was  at  Cambridge,  he  distinguished 
himself  by  some  peculiarities  of  conduct,  which  probably 
arose  from  a  mixture  of  insanity  in  his  constitution  ;  and  in 
his  conversation  he  occasionally  took  such  liberties  on  cer- 
tain topics  as  gave  great  offence  to  those  about  him.  Hav- 
ing indulged  himself  too  much,  at  college,  in  an  indolent 
sedentary  way  of  life,  he,  at  length,  found  it  absolutely 
necessary  to  have  recourse  to  some  kind  of  exercise.  In 
this  case,  being  of  a  strong  athletic  frame  of  body,  and 
not  over-delicate  in  the  choice  of  his  company,  he  took  to 
the  practice  of  ringing ;  and,  as  such  a  ggnius  could  not 

»  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  II. 


DAWES.  357 

stop  at  mediocrity,  he  quickly  became  the  leader  of  the 
band,  and  carried  the  art  to  the  higliest  perfection. 

Another  circumstance,  thougli  of  a  very  diflcrent  nature, 
by  which  Mr.  Dawes  rendered  liiniself  remarkable,  was  his 
taking  a  violent  part  against  Dr.  BcMitley,  and  even  endea-? 
vouring  to  depreciate  that  great  man's  literature.  In  his 
*'  Miscellanea  Criiica,"  on  several  occasions,  he  detracts 
from  Dr.  Bentley's  praises;  and  did  not  scruple  to  assert, 
that  the  doctor,  '*  nihd  in  Grcecis  cognovisse,  nisi  ex  in-, 
dicibus  petitum,"  knew  nothing  relative  to  Grecian  litera- 
ture, but  what  he  had  drawn  from  indexes;  an  assertion 
which  could  only  proceed  from  extreme  vanity,  or  per- 
sonal dislike,  or  a  bigoted  attachment  to  a  party.  Indeed, 
the  contempt  with  which  writers  of  distinguished  abilities 
sometimes  speak  of  each  other,  is  a  disgrace  to  the  repub- 
lic of  letters ;  and  it  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  a  spirit 
so  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  justice  and  urbanity,  should 
still  continue  to  prevail  among  men  who  otherwise  deserve 
to  be  held  in  esteem. 

In  1736,  Mr.  Dawes  published  Proposals  for  printing 
by  subscription,  "  Paradisi  amissi,  a  cl.  Miltono  conscripti. 
Liber  primus,  Graeca  versione  donatus,  una  cum  Aunota- 
tionibus."  These  proposals  were  accompanied  with  a  spe- 
cimen, which  may  be  seen  in  the  preface  to  the  Miscel- 
lanea Critica,  where  our  author  explains  his  reasons  for 
not  proceeding  in  his  undertaking,  and  very  ingenuously 
points  out  the  errors  of  his  own  performance.  It  was  cus- 
tomary with  him,  in  conversation,  humourously  to  expose 
his  version  to  ridicule ;  and,  tlierefore,  though  he  had 
actually  completed  his  design,  by  translating  the  whole 
first  book  of  the  Paradise  Lost,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  did. 
not  commit  it  to  the  press. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  1738,  Mr.  Dawes  was  appointed 
master  of  the  free  grammar-school  in  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne,  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Edmund  Lodge,  who  had  re- 
signed that  office.  The  commencement  of  liis  duty  was  to 
take  place  at  the  Michaelmas  following.  In  tiie  same  year, 
on  the  9th  of  October,  he  was  preferred,  by  act  of  com- 
mon council,  to  the  mastership  of  the  hospital  of  the 
blessed  Virgin  Mary  in  Newcastle.  The  business  of  Mr. 
Dawes's  new  station  did  not  prevent  hun  from  prosecuting 
his  inquiries  into  the  nature,  peculiarities,  and  eleg mcies 
of  the  Greek  tongue  ;  and  accordingly,  in  1745,  he  pub- 
lished his  **  Miscellanea  Critica"  Mr.  Hubbard,  of  Ema- 
nuel college,    Cambridge,    and   Dr.  Mason,   of  Trinity, 


35S  DAWES. 

assisted  in  the  publication.     It  was  Mr.  Dawes's  design  in 
this  work,  to  aftord  such  a  specimen  of  his  critical  abilities, 
as  should  enable  the  learned  world  to  judge  what  might  be 
expected  from  iiim,  in  an  edition  which   he  had  projected 
of  all  the  Attic  poets,  as  well  as   of  Homer  and  Pindar. 
Though  his   scheme  was  never  carried  into  execution,   he 
has  obtained,  by  his  "  Miscellanea  Critica,"   a  very  high 
place  among  those  who  have  contributed  to  the  promotion 
of  Greek  learning  in  England,  and,  as  such,   his  name  will 
be  transmitted  with  honour  to  posterity.     Accordingly,  the 
book  has  been  spoken  of  in  terms  of  distinguished  applause, 
by  some  of  the  first  literary  characters  in  Europe,  particu- 
larly  Valkener,  Pierson,  Koen,  and    Reiske.      A    second 
edition  of  it,  in  octavo,  was  given  in  1781,  from  the  Cla- 
rendon press,  by  the  rev.  Mr.  Burgess,   of  Corpus  Christi 
college,   Oxford,  now  bishop  of  St.  David's,  who  has  en- 
riched the  work  with  a  learned  preface,   and  a  nuniber  of 
notes  of  great  value  and  importance,  and  some  assistance 
from  Dawes's  MSS.  procured  by  Dr.  Farmer  and  Mr.  Salter. 
Mr.  Dawes's  situation  at  Newcastle  was  neither  so  happy 
nor  so  useful   as   might  have  been  expected  ;  in  a   great 
measure  owing  to  the  eccentricity  of  his  disposition,  and, 
indeed,   to  his  imagination    being    in   some    respects   dis- 
turbed.    Hence  he  fancied  that  all  his  friends  had  slighted 
him,  or  used  him  ill ;  and  of  the  jealousy  of  his  temper  he 
has  left  a  remarkable  instance,  on  a  very  trifling  occasion. 
His  printer,  by  an  unfortunate   mistake,  in   a  passage  of 
Terentianus  Maurus,  which  Mr.  Dawes  had  quoted  in  order 
to  correct,   had  inserted  a  comma  that  destroyed  the  merit 
of  the  emendation.     In  consequence  of  this  involuntary 
error,  our  author,  in  the  Addenda  to  his  Miscellanea,  has 
expressed   himself  with    great  indignation.     He  declares, 
that  he  could  not  conjecture  what  fault  he  had  committed 
against  the  printer,   that  he  should  envy  him  the  honour, 
whatever  it  was,   that  was  due  to  his  correction;  and  he 
adds,  that  he  knows  not  how   it  happened,  that,  for  seve- 
ral years  past,  he  had  been  ill  used  by   those  from  whom 
he  had  deserved  better  treatment.     With   the   corporation 
of   Newcastle    he    became    involved    in    altercations,    and 
adopted  a  singular  method  of  displaying  his  resentment,  or 
rather  his  contempt;   for  in  teaching  the  boys  at  school,  he 
made  them  translate  the  Greek  word  for  ass  into  alderman  ; 
which   some   of  the   lads  did   seriously,  though  otherwise 
M-eli  instructed.     With  such  a  disposition  of  mind,  it  is  not 
surprising  tiiat  his  scholars  were,  at  length,  reduced  to  a, 


D  A  W  E  S.  35D 

very  small  number ;  so  that  it  became  expedient  for  him 
to  consent  to  quit  his  station.  Accordingly,  at  Midsum- 
mer, 1749,  he  resigned  the  mastership  of  the  grannnar- 
scliool,  and  the  mastership  of  St.  Mary's  iiospital ;  and,  in 
consideration  of  these  sacrifices,  the  mayor  and  burgesses 
of  Newcastle,  on  the  2otli  of  September  following,  exe- 
cuted a  bond,  by  which  tlioy  engaged  to  grant  him  an 
annuity  of  eighty  pounds  a-year,   during  life. 

Mr,  Dawes,  after  his  resignation  of  the  above  two  offices, 
retired  to  Heworth-shore,  about  three  miles  below  New- 
castle, on  the  south  side  of  the  Tyne,  wliere  his  favourite 
amusement  was  the  exercise  of  rowing  in  a  boat.  In  his 
conversation,  he  preserved,  to  the  last,  his  splenetic  hu- 
mour ;  abusing  every  thing,  and  every  person  that  he  had 
formerly  regarded.  He  departed  this  life,  at  Heworth, 
on  the  21st  of  March,  17 66,  and,  agreeably  to  his  own 
desire,  was  buried  in  the  church-yard  of  that  place  ;  where 
a  common  head-stone,  little  suited  to  the  just  reputation 
of  so  eminent  a  scholar,  continues  to  mark  his  grave  with 
the  words,  "  In  memory  of  Richard  Dawes,  late  head- 
master of  the  grammcr  (sic)  school  at  Newcastle  ;  who  died, 
the  21st  of  March,  1766.     Aged  57  years.'" 

DAWES    (Sir   Willlvm),    archbishop   of    York,    the 
youngest  son  of  sir  John  Dawes,  baronet,  by  Jane  his  wife, 
the  daughter  and  only  child  of  Richard  Hawkins,  of  Brain- 
tree,  in   the   county  of  Essex,  gent,  was   born   Sept.    1 2, 
1671,  at  Lyons,   (a  seat  which  came  by  his   mother)  near 
Braintree,  and  received  the  first  rudiments   of  learning  at 
iVIerchant-taylors'-school  in  London,  from   Mr.  John  Hart- 
clirt'e,  and    Mr.  Ambr.  Bonwicke,   successively   masters   of 
that  school  ;  under  whose  care  he  made  great  proficiency 
in   the    knowledge   of  the   classics,     and    was    a   tolerable 
master  of  the  Hebrew  ton«>ue,  even  before  he  was  fifteen 
years  of  age  ;  which   was  chiefly   owing  to  the  additional 
care  that  Dr.  Kidder,  afterwards  bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells, 
took  of  his   education.      In  act  term    1687,  he  became  a 
scholar  of   St.  John's  college  in  Oxford,  and  after  his  con- 
tinuance  there   two   years  or  upwards,   was  made  fellow. 
But  his    father's  title  and  estate  descending  to  him,  upon 
the  death  of  his  two  brothers,  which  happened  about  the 
same  time,  he  left  Oxford,   and  entering  hiuiself  a  noble- 
man in  Catherine-hall,  Cambridge,  lived  in  his  eldest  bro- 
ther's chambers;  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  of  fit  standing, 
took  the  degree  of  master  of  arts.     His  intention,  fioai  tlie 

1  Biog,  Brit, 


360  DAWES. 

very  first,  was  to  enter  into  holy  orders ;  and  tlierefore  to 
qualify  himself  for  that  purpose,  among  other  introductory 
works,  he  seems  to  have  made  some  of  onr  late  eminent 
divines  a  considerahle  branch  of  his  study,  even  before  he 
was  eighteen  years  of  age  :  and  he  shewed  always  a  serious 
and  devout  temper  of  mind,  and  a  true  sense  and  love  of 
piety  and  reli<j;:ion.     After  he  had  taken  his  master  of  arts' 
degree,   not   beinj^   of  age  to  enter  into  holy  orders,  he 
thought  it  proper  to  visit  the  estate  he  was  now  become 
owner  of,  and  to  make  a  short  tour  into  some  other  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  which  he  had  not  yet  seen.     But  his  in- 
tended  progress  was,   in   some   measure,  stopped    by   his 
happening  to  meet  with  Frances,   the  eldest  daughter  of 
sir  Thomas  Darcy,  of  Braxstead-lodge,  in  Essex,  baronet, 
a  fine  and  accomplished  woman,  to   whoui   he  paid  his  ad- 
dresses, and,   not    long    after,    married.     As   soon    as    lie 
came   to   a  competent  age,   lie  was  ordained   deacon  and 
priest  by  Dr.  Compton,   bishop  of  London.     Shortly  after, 
he  was  created  doctor  in  divinity,  by  a  royal  mandate,  in 
order  to  be  qualified  for  the  mastership  of  Catherine-hall ; 
to  which  he  was  unanimously  elected,   in  1696,  upon  the 
death  of  Dr.  John  Echard.     At  his  coming  thither  he  found 
the  bare  case  of  a  new  chapel,   begun   by  his  predecessor; 
to  the  completion  of  which  he  contributed  very  liberally, 
and,  among  other   beneficial  acts   to  his  college,  he  ob- 
tained, through  his   interest  with  queen  Anne,    and  her 
chief  ministers,  an  act  of  parliament  for  annexing  the  first 
prebend  of  Norwich  which  should  become   vacant,  to  the 
mastershi})  of  Catherine-hall  for  ever.     Not  long  after  his 
election,    he  became   vice-chancellor  of  Cambridge,    and 
discharged  that  dignity  with  universal  applause.     In  1696, 
he  was  made  one  of  the  chaplains  in  ordinary  to  king  Wil- 
liam ;    and,  shortly   after,  was   presented    by   his   majesty 
without  interest  or  solicitation,  and  merely,  as  the  king  said, 
by  way  of  pledge  of  his  future  favour,  to  a  prebend  of 
Worcester,  in    which    he  was   installed    August  26,    1698. 
On  the  1 0th  of  November  1698,   he  was  collated  by  arch- 
bishop Tenison   to  the  rector}',  and,  the  li)th  of  Decem- 
ber following,   to  tiie  deanery,   of  Bocking   in  Essex,  aiwl 
behaved  in  that  parish  in  a  very  charitable  and  exemplary 
manner.      AI'Lcr  queen  Anne's  accession  to  the  throne,  he 
was  made  one  of  her  majesty's  chaplains,  and  became  so 
great  a  favotirite  with  her,  that  he  had  a  reasonable  expec- 
tation of  being  advanced  to  some  of  the  highest  dignities 


DAWES.  364 

in  the  church.     Accordingly,  though   he  happened   acci- 
dentally to  miss  of  the  bishopric   of  Lincoln  *,   which  be- 
came vacant  in  1705  ;  yet  her  majesty,  of  her  own  accord, 
named  him  to  tlie  see  of  Chester,  in  1707,  upon  the  death    ' 
of  Dr.  Nicholas  Stratford  :  and  he  was  consecrated  Febru- 
ary 8,  1707-8.     In  1713-4,  he  was,  by  the  recommenda- 
tion of  his  worthy  predecessor  Dr.  John  Sharp,  translated 
to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  York,  being  elected  thereto 
February  26,  and  enthroned  by  proxy  the  24th  of  iMarch  fol- 
lowing.     He  continued  above  ten  years  in  this  eminent  sta- 
tion, honoured  and  respected  by  all.     At  length  a  diarrhoea, 
to  which  he  had  been  subject  several  times  before,  ending 
in  an  inHammation  of  his  bowels,  put  a  period  to  his  life 
April  30,  1724,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age.      He  was 
buried  in   the  chapel  of  Catherine-hall,  Cambridge,   near 
his  lady,  who  died  December  22,  1705,  in  the  twenty-ninth 
year  of  her  age.     By  her  he  had  seven  children,   William, 
BVancis,   William,  Thomas,   who  all  died  young  ;  and  Eli- 
zabeth, Jane,  and   Darcy,   who  survived  him.     In  person 
he  was  tall,   proportionable,   and  bear.tiful.     There  was  in 
his  look  and  gesture  something  easier  to  be  conceived  than 
described,  that  gained  every  one's  favour,  even  before  he 
spoke.      His  behaviour  was  easy  and  courteous  to  all ;  his 
civility    free  from    formality ;   his  conversation  lively   and 
cheerful,  but  without  any  tincture  of  levity.     He  had  a 
genius   well   fitted  for  a   scholar,  a   lively   imagination,  a 
strong  memory,  and  a  sound  judgment.     He  was  a  kind 
and  loving  husband,  a   tender  and   indulgent  parent,  and 
so  extraordinary  good  a  master,  that  he  never  was  observed 
to  be  in  a  passion  ;  and  took  care  of  the  spiritual  as  well  as 
the   temporal  welfare  of  his  domestics.     In  his  episcopal 
capacity,   he  visited  his  large  diocese  with   great  diligence 
and  constancy,  Nottinghamshire  one  year,  and  Yorkshire 
another;  but  every  third  year  he  did  not  hold  any  visita- 
tion.     He  performed  all  the  offices  of  his  function  with  be- 
coming seriousness  and  gravity.     He  look  great  care  and 

*  The  reason  of  his  missing:  of  it,  was  inclination)  to  give  it  to  Dr.  W.  Wake, 

this:   being  appointed  to  preach  before  afterwards   archbi-liop  of  Canterbury, 

queen  Anne  on  the  30>h  of  January,  This,    however,    made   no    impression 

(whilst  that  bisliopr'c  was   vacant  by  upon  sir  William:   and,  therefore,  when 

the  death  of  Dr.  James  Gardiner)  sir  he  was  told  by  a  certain  nobleman,  that 

William  was  not  afraid  to  utter  some  he  lost  a  bishopric  by  his  preaching,  his 

bold  truths,  which  at   that  time   were  reply  was,  "  That,  as  to  that  he  had 

not  so  well  relished  by  certain  persons  no  maimer  of  concern  upon  him,  be- 

JD  power,  who  took  occasion  from  thence  cau>e  his  intention  was  never  to  gain 

to  persuade  the  queen  (contrary  to  her  one  by  preaching." 


362  DAWES. 

caution,  to  admit  none  but  sufficient  labourers  into  tlie 
Lord's  liarvest ;  and  when  ada)itted,  to  appoint  them  sti- 
pends adequate  to  their  labour.  He  administered  justice 
to  all  with  an  equal  and  impartial  hand  ;  being  no  respec- 
ter of  persons,  and  making  no  difference  between  the  poor 
and  rich,  but  espoushig  all  into  the  intimacy  of  his  bosom, 
his  care,  his  aifability,   his  provision,  and  his  prayers. 

So  strict  an  observer  was  he  of  his  word,  that  no  con- 
sideration whatever  could  make  him  break  it ;  and  so  in- 
violable in  his  friendship,  that  without  the  discovery  of 
some  essential  fault  indeed,  he  never  departed  from  it. 
A  great  point  of  conscience  it  was  with  bin),  that  his 
promises  should  not  create  fruitless  expectances ;  but 
when,  upon  ])roper-  considerations,  he  was  induced  to  do 
it,  he  always  thought  himself  bound  to  employ  his  utmost 
interest  to  have  the  thing  effected  ;  and  till  a  convenient 
opportunity  sliould  present  itself,  was  not  unmindful  to 
support  the  petitioner  (if  in  mean  circumstances)  at  his 
own  expence :  for  charity  indeed  was  his  predominant 
quality. — Both  as  a  bishop  and  jieer  of  the  reahn,  he  con- 
sidered himself  as  responsible  for  the  souls  committed  to 
his  charge  in  one  respect,  and  as  intrusted  with  the  lives 
and  fortunes  of  his  fellow  subjects,  in  the  other.  If  in 
some  parliamentary  debates  (in  whicii  he  made  a  very  con- 
siderable ligure),  he  happened  to  dissent  from  other  great 
men,  who  might  have  the  same  common  good  in  view,  but 
seemed  to  pursue  it  in  a  method  incongruous^to  his  senti- 
ments, tliis  ought  to  be  accounted  his  honour,  and  a  proof 
of  his  integrity,  but  cannot,  with  any  colour  of  justice,  be 
deemed  party  prejudice,  or  a  spirit  of  contradiction  in 
him  ;  because  those  very  men,  whom  he  sometimes  op- 
posed, at  other  times  he  joined  himself  to,  whenever  he 
perceived  them  in  the  right.  He  associated  himself  with 
no  party,  it  being  his  opinion,  that  whoever  enters  the 
senate  house,  should  always  carry  his  conscience  along 
with  him;  that  the  honour  of  God,  the  renown  of  his 
prince,  and  the  good  of  his  fellow  subjects,  should  be,  as 
it  were,  the  jjolar^star  to  guide  him  ;  that  no  multitude, 
though  never  so  numerous;  no  faction,  though  never  so 
powerful ;  no  arguments,  though  never  so  specious ;  no 
threats,  though  never  so  frightful  ;  no  offers,  though  never 
so  advantageous  and  alluring  ;  should  blind  his  eyes,  or 
pervert  him  to  give  any  the  least  vote,  not  directly  answer- 
able to  the  sentiments  of  his  own  breast. 


I)  A  W  E  S.  363 

After  his  death  appeared  "  The  whole  Works  of  sir  Wil- 
liam Dawes,  hart."  &c.  3  vols,  8vo,  with  a  preface  and 
life,    1733,     including-    those    published    hy    himself,    viz. 

1.  "  An  Anatomy  of  Atheism,"  London,  1693,  4to,  a  poem, 
dedicated  to  sir  George  Darcy,  hart.  This  poem  was  writ- 
ten  by  the  author,   before  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age. 

2.  "  The  Duties  of  the  Closet,"  &c.  written  by  him  before 
he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  3.  "  The  Duty  of  Com- 
municating explained  and  enforced,"  &c.  composed  for 
the  use  of  his  parish  of  Booking,  in  order  to  introduce  a 
monthly  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion  ;  which  used 
to  he  administered,  before  his  coming  thither,  only  at  the 
three  great  festivals  of  the  year.  4.  *'  Sermons  preached 
upon  several  occasions  before  king  William  and  queen 
Anne,"  London,  1707,  8vo,  dedicated  to  queen  Anne. 
5,  He  also  drew  up  the  preface  to  the  works  of  Offspring 
Blackall,  D.  D.  late  bishop  of  Exeter,  London,  1723,  foL 
2  volumes. 

On  account  of  sir  William  Dawes's  "  Anatomy  of 
Atheism,"  Mr,  Cibber  has  assigned  him  an  article  in  his 
♦'  Lives  of  the  Poets."  But  the  worthy  prelate  had  very 
little  title  to  be  ranked  in  that  catalogue.  The  piety  of 
his  work  is  unquestionable,  and  it  is  probably  not  defective 
^  in  good  sense ;  but  it  has  no  claim  to  poetical  excellence, 
nor  has  it  even  the  merit  of  harmonious  versification.' 

DAY,  DA  YE,  or  DAIE  (John),  a  very  eminent  English 
printer  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  born  in  St.  Peter's 
parish,  Dunwich,  in  Suffolk,  and  is  supposed  to  have  de- 
scended from  a  good  family  in  that  county.  From  whom 
he  learned  the  art  of  printing,  is  not  clear,  unless  perhaps 
Gibson,  one  of  v.'hose  devices  Da)'  frequently  used.  He 
first  began  printing  about  1544,  a  little  above  Holborn 
Conduit,  and  at  that  time  was  in  conjunction  with  William 
Seres,  In  1549  he  removed  into  Alderscrate-street,  near 
St.  Anne's  church,  where  he  built  a  j)rinting-office,  but 
kept  shops  in  various  parts  of  the  town,  where  his  books 
were  sold.  It  would  appear  that  he  forbore  printing  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  queen  Mary,  yet  continued  improving 
himself  in  the  art,  as  was  evident  by  his  subsequent  publi- 
cations He  was  the  first  in  England  who  printed  the 
Saxon  letter,  and  brought  that  of  Greek  to  great  perfec- 
tion, as  well  as  the  Italic  and  other  characters,  of  which  he 

»  Preface  to  his  Works,— Biog.  Brit.— NicoUon's  Letters,  vol.  II.  p,  473, 


364  DAY. 

had  great  variety.  Archbishop  Parker,  who  frequently 
employed  him,  considered  him  as  excelling  his  brethren  in 
skill  and  industry.  He  was  the  first  person  admitted  into 
the  livery  of  the  Stationers'  company,  after  they  obtained 
their  charter  from  Philip  and  Mary,  was  chosen  warden  in 
1564,  1566,  1571,  and  1575,  and  master  in  1580.  In  1583 
he  yielded  up  to  the  disposal  of  the  company,  for  the  re- 
lief of  their  poor,  his  right  to  certain  books  and  copies. 
He  died  July  23,  1584,  after  having  followed  the  business 
of  a  printer  with  great  reputation  and  success  for  forty 
years,  and  was  buried  in  the  parish  church  of  Bradley 
Parva,  in  the  count^^  of  Suffolk,  with  a  monument  on  which 
are  inlaid  the  effigies  of  him,  his  wife,  and  family,  and 
some  lines,  cut  in  the  old  English  letter,  intimating  his 
services  in  the  cause  of  the  reformation  by  his  various  pub- 
lications, especially  of  Fox's  Acts  and  Monuments;  and 
that  he  had  two  w.ves,  and  numerous  children  by  both. 
Besides  Fox,  he  printed  several  valuable  editions  of  the 
Bible,  of  the  works  of  the  martyrs,  of  Ascham,  and  other 
then  accounted  standard  authors.* 

DAY  poHN),  one  of  the  sons  of  the  preceding,  was 
born  in  his  father's  house  in  Aldersgate-street  in  1566,  and 
entered  a  commoner  of  St.  Alban's  hall,  Oxford,  in  1582. 
In  1583,  being  then  B.  A.  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  Oriel 
college,  took  his  master's  degree,  entered  into  holy  orders, 
and  became  a  very  favourite  preacher  in  the  university. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  I.  with  leave  of  his 
college,  he  travelled  for  three  years,  improving  himself  in 
learning  and  experience,  and,  as  Wood  tells  us,  "  he  vvas 
about  to  say,"  in  Calvinism.  After  his  return  he  was  made 
vicar  of  St.  Mary's  in  Oxford,  in  1608,  where  his  preach- 
ing obtained  him  the  general  respect  both  of  the  university 
and  city.  But  being  disappointed  in  the  provostship  of  his 
college  in  1621,  he  left  Oxford,  and  was  beneficed  at 
Thurlovv  in  Suffolk,  where  he  died  1627.  Wood  gives 
him  the  character  of  a  person  of  great  reading,  and  ad-' 
mirably  versed  in  the  fathers,  schoolmen,  and  councils. 
Hepublished:  1.  "  Twelve  Sermons,"  1615,  4to.  2.  "  Con- 
ciones  ad  Clerum,"  Oxon.  1612  and  1615.  3.  <' Day's 
Dyall,  or,  his  Twelve  Howres,  that  is.  Twelve  severall  lec- 
tures by  way  of  Catechisme,  as  they  were  delivered  by 
\nai  in  the  chapel  of  Oriel  college  in  Oxford,  in  the  years 

»  Ames's  Typographical  Antiquities  by  Herbert,  vol.  I.^ 


DAY.  365 

of  our  Lord  God  1612  and  1613,"  Oxford,  1614.  On  the 
title-page  is  a  dial,  and  under  it  the  quotation  from  St.  John, 
ii.  9.  *'  Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day  V  4.  "  Cum- 
mentaries  on  the  first  eight  Psalms  of  David,"  ibid.  16G.0, 
4to.  His  brother,  Lionel  Day,  was  of  BalUol  ;itid  Oriel 
colleges,  rector  of  Whichford,  near  Bt:i.'es  in  Warwick- 
shire, where  he  died  in  1640.  He  published  a  "  Concio 
adClerum."' 

DAY'  (Richard),  another  son  of  the  celebrated  printer, 
and  himself  a  printer,  was  educated  at  Eton  school,  and 
in  1571  elected  thence  to  King's  college,  Cambridge, 
where  he  took  his  degree  of  M.  A.  and  became  fellow,  and 
being  ordained,  supplied  the  place  of  minister  at  Ryegate 
in  Surrey,  in  the  room  of  the  martyrologist.  Fox.  He  af- 
terwards appears  to  have  turned  his  thoughts  to  his  father's 
trade,  as  he  was  called  on  the  livery  of  the  stationers' 
company  in  1578.  He  carried  on  business  in  his  father's 
house  in  Aldersgate-street,  and  had  an  exclusive  privilege 
jointly  with  him  during  their  lives,  and  that  of  the  longest 
liver,  to  print  the  Psalms  of  David  in  metre.  The  books 
he  printed  himself  are  dated  from  1578  to  158  1,  after 
which  his  copies  were  printed  by  his  assigns  as  far  as  1597. 
When  he  died  is  not  known.  He  wrote  some  verses, 
**  Contra  papistos  incendiarios,"  in  Fox's  Martyrology,  1 576, 
which  Herbert  informs  us  are  omitted  in  the  subsequent 
editions.  He  translated  Fox's  "  De  Christo  triumphante 
comoedia,"  to  which  he  wrote  a  preface,  and  two  dedica- 
tions ;  one  in  the  edition  of  1579,  to  Mr,  William  Kyile- 
grewe  ;  the  other  in  the  edition  of  1607,  to  William  lord 
Howard,  of  Effingham.  He  wrote  also  a  preface  and 
conclusion  to  the  "  Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,'* 
and  a  short  Latin  preface  to  P.  Bavo's  treatises  "  De 
fide,  &c."  It  was  in  this  work  that  he  first  introduced 
a  typographical  reform  in  the  distinct  use  of  the  letters  j 
and  i,  v  and  u,  which,  however,  did  not  generally  take 
place  until  the  following  century.  * 

DAY  (Thomas),  a  poetical  and  miscellaneous  writer,  of 
an  eccentric  character,  was  born  in  Wellclose-square,  Lon- 
don, June  22,  1748.  His  father  was  an  officer  in  the  cus- 
'tom-house,  and  had  been  twice  married.  Tlvis  son  was  the 
issue  of  his  second  marriage  to  Miss  Jane  Bonham,  the 
onJy  daughter  of  Samuel  Bonham,  esq.  a  merchant  in  the 

»  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  I.  *  .'Vmes's  Typographical  Autiquities,  by  Herbert, 


366  D  A  V. 

city.  His  father  died  when  he  was  little  more  than  a  yeaf 
old,  leaving  him  a  fortune  of  1200/.  a  year,  including 
300/.  as  a  jointure  to  his  mother,  who  in  a  few  years  mar- 
ried Thomas  Phillips,  esq.  another  officer  in  the  custom- 
house. To  this  gentleman,  who  died  in  1782,  young  Day 
behaved  witli  decent  respect,  but  felt  no  great  attachment. 
His  mother,  however,  chiefly  superintended  his  educa- 
tion, and  accustomed  him  early,  we  are  told,  to  bodily 
exertions,  on  whicli  he  afterwards  set  so  high  a  value. 
He  was  first  put  to  a  child's  school  at  Stoke  Newington, 
and  when  admissible,  was  sent  to  the  Charter-house,  where 
he  resided  in  the  house  and  under  the  instructions  of  Dr. 
Crusius,  until  his  sixteenth  year.  He  now  entered  as  a 
gentleman  commoner  of  Corpus  college,  Oxford,  where 
he  remained  tliree  years,  but  left  it  without  taking  a  degree. 

As  soon  as  he  came  of  age,  his  property  and  conduct 
devolved  upon  himself.  At  an  early  period  of  life,  we 
are  told,  he  manifested  a  particular  fondness  for  scrutiniz- 
ing tile  human  character;  and,  as  if  such  knowledge  could 
not  be  acquired  at  home,  he  took  a  journey  in  1766  from 
Oxford  to  Wales,  that  he  might  contemplate  that  class  of 
men  who,  "  as  still  treading  the  unimproved  paths  of  na- 
ture, might  be  presumed  to  have  the  qualities  of  the  mind 
pure  and  unsophisticated  by  art."  \Vhat  of  this  descrip- 
tion he  found  in  Wales  we  are  not  informed  ;  but  in  pur- 
suit of  the  same  investigation  of  men  and  manners,  he  de- 
termined, on  coming  of  age,  to  go  abroad  ;  and  accord- 
ingly he  spent  one  winter  at  Paris,  another  at  Avignon,  and 
a  third  at  Lyons,  a  summer  in  the  Austrian  Netherlands, 
and  another  in  Holland.  At  Lyons,  as  every  where  else, 
he  was  distinguished  by  his  humanity  and  generosity,  which 
made  his  departure  from  those  places  be  sincerely  re- 
gretted, and  at  Lyons  produced  an  effect  singularly  cha- 
racteristic of  the  class  of  people  on  whom  he  bestowed 
his  bounty.  A  large  body  of  them  assembled  at  his  de- 
parture, and  very  justly  considering  that  they  would  now 
be  in  a  worse  condition  than  if  he  had  never  relieved  them, 
requested  that  he  would  leave  a  sum  of  money  behind  for 
their  future  wants.  It  is  probable  that  these  returns  to  hi* 
imprudent  liberality  had  a  considerable  share  in  producing  . 
the  misanthropy  which  appeared  in  his  future  conduct. 

He  had  already  formed  some  very  absurd  notions  of  the 
state  of  society  in  England,  and  had  accustomed  himself  to 
mistake  the  reveries  of  Housseau  for  the  result  of  expe- 


D  A  Y.  367 

Tience.  He  bad  been  early  rejected  by  a  young  lady  to 
whom  he  paid  his  addresses,  and  considering  her  as  a  fair 
sample  of  her  sex,  despaired  of  finding  among  them  a  wife 
such  as  he  would  chuse  ;  one  that  should  have  a  taste  for 
literature  and  science,  for  moral  and  patriotic  philosophy ; 
fond  of  retirement  ''  from  the  infectious  taint  of  human 
society  ;"  simple  as  a  mountain  girl,  in  her  dress,  her  diet, 
and  her  manners;  and  fearless  and  intrepid  as  the  Spartan 
wives  and  Roman  heroines.  Observation  soon  taught  him 
that  there  was  no  such  creature  ready  made,  and  he  must  -^ 
therefore  mould  some  infant  into  the  being  his  fancy  had 
imaged. 

From  a  comparison  of  dates  it  appears  to  have  been  in 
1769,  when   he  came  of  age,  that  he  formed  this  curious 
project.     Accompanied  by  a  Mr.  Bicknell,  a  barrister,   ra- 
ther older  than  himself,  he  went  to  Shrewsbury  to  explore 
the  Foundling  hospital,  and  from  these  children,  Mr.  Day, 
in   tlie  presence   of  Mr.    Bicknell,    selected  two    girls   of 
twelve  years  each;  both  beautiful:   one  fair,  with  flaxen 
locks  and  light  eyes,  whom  he  called  Lncretia ;   the  other, 
a  clear  auburn  brunette,  with  darker  eyes,   more   glowing 
bloom,  and   chesnut  tresses,    he    called   Sabrina.     These 
girls   were   obtainetl    on   written    conditions,  for  the   per- 
formance   of  which    Mr.    Bicknell    was   guarantee.     They 
were  to  this  effect :  that  Mr.  Day  should,  within  the  twelve-   - 
month  after  taking  them,  resign   one   into  tlie  protection 
of  some    respectal)le    tradeswoman,   giving    one    hundred 
pounds  to   bind  her  apprentice  ;   maintaining   her,   if  she 
behaved  well,  till  she  married,  or  began  business  for  her- 
self.     Upon  either  of  these  events  he  promised  to  advance 
four  hundred  pounds   more.      He  avowed  his  intention  of 
educating  the  girl  he  should  retain,  with  a  view  to   make 
her  his  future  wife :  solemnly  engaged  never  to  violate  her 
innocence  ;  and  if  he  should  renounce  his  plan,  to  maintain 
her   decently   in   some  creditable  family  till   she  married, 
when   he   promised  five  hundred   pounds  as   her  wedding 
portion.     It  would,  probably,  be  quite  unnecessary  to  make 
any  appeal  to  the  feelmgs  of  parents,  or  to   offer  any  re- 
marks  on  the  conduct   of  the  governors  of  this  hospital 
respecting  this  strange  bargain,  for  the  particulars  of  which 
we    are   indebted   to    Miss   Seward.     I'he    narrative   goes 
on  to  inform  us,  that  Mr.  Day  went  instantly  into  Francfe 
with  these  girls,   not  taking  an  English   servant,   that  they 
might  regeive  no  ideas,  e.Kcept  those  which  himself  might 


368  DA  Y. 

chuse  to  impart,  and  which  he  soon  found  were  not  very 
acceptable.     His   pupils  teazed   and  perplexed  him ;  they 
quarrelled  ;  they  sickened  of  the  small  pox  ;   they  chained 
him   to   their  bed-side,   by   crying  if  they   were   ever  left 
alone    with   any    ]ierson    who   could   not   speak    English. 
Hence  he  was   obliged  to   sit  up   with  them  many  nights, 
and    to  perform   for  them  the  lowest  offices  of  assistance. 
They  lost  no  beauty,  however,   by  their  disease,  and  came 
back   with   Mr.   Day  in  eight   months,   when  Sabrina  was 
become  the  favourite.    He  placed  Lucretia  with  a  chamber 
milliner,  and  she   afterwards  became  the  wife  of  a  linen- 
draper  in  London.     With  Sabrina  he  actually  proceeded 
during  some  years,  in  the  execution  of  his   favourite  pro- 
ject;  but   none    of  his    experiments    had    the    success  he 
wished.      Her  spirit  could  not  be  armed  against  the  dread 
of  pain  and  the  appearance  of  danger,   a  species  of  courage 
which,   with  him,  was  a  sine  qua  non  in  the  character  of  a 
wife.     When    he  dropped   melted   sealing-wax  upon   her 
arms,   she  did  not  endure  it  heroically;   nor  when  he  fired 
pistols  at  her  petticoats,   which  she  believed  to  be  charged 
with  balls,  could   she  help  starting  aside,  or  suppress  her 
screams.     When  he  tried  her  fidelity  in  secret-keeping,  by 
tellintr  her  of  well- invented  dangers  to  himself,  in  which 
greater  dansfer  would  result  from  its  being  discovered  that 
he  was  aware  of  them,  he  once  or  twice  detected  her  hav- 
ing imparted  them  tothe  servants,  and  to  her  play-fellows. 
He  persisted,  however,  in  these  foolish  experiments,  and 
sustained   their   continual   disappointment  during  a  whole 
year's  residence  in   the  vicinity  of  Lichfield.     The  diffi- 
culty seemed  to  be  in  giving  her  motive  to  self-exertion, 
self-denial,  and  heroism.     It  was  against  his  plan  to  draw 
it  from  the  usual  sources,  pecuniary  reward,  luxury,  am- 
bition, or  vanity.     His   watchful   cares   had  precluded  all 
knowledge  of  the  value  of  money,  the  reputation  of  beauty, 
and    its    concomitant   desire    of   ornamented   dress.     The 
only  iuducement,   therefore,   which  this  girl  could  have  to 
combat  and  subdue  the  natural  preference  in  youth  of  ease 
to  pain,  and  of  vacant  sport  to  the  labour  of  thinking,   was 
the  desire  of  pleasing  her  protector,  though  she   knew  not 
how,  or  why  he  became  such  ;  and  in  that  desire  fear  had 
greatly  the   ascendant  of  affection.     At  length,  however, 
he  renounced  all  hopes  of  mouliling  Sabrina  into  the  being 
which  his  disordered  imagination  had  formed  ;  and,  ceasing 
now   to  behold  her  as  a  wife,  placed  her  at  a  boarding- 


iD  A  Y.  365^ 

sthool  at  Sutton  Coldfield,  Warwickshire,  where,  during 
three  years,  she  gained  the  esteem  of  her  instructress, 
grew  feminine,  elegant,  and  amiable.  She  is  still  living, 
an  ornament  to  the  situation  in  which  she  is  placed. 

After  this,  Mr.  Day  paid  his  addresses  to  two  sisters  in 
succession,  both  of  whom  rejected  him.  His  appearance 
and  manners  were  indeed  not  much  calculated  to  charm, 
and  the  austere  singularities  of  his  sentiments,  and  the  ca-» 
prices  of  his  temper,  all  which  were  parts  of  the  system  of 
happiness  he  had  formed  to  himself,  were  tolerable,  even 
by  his  friends,  for  a  very  short  period.  With  the  second 
of  these  ladies,  indeed,  he  was  so  enamoured  as  to  tell  her 
that  he  would  endeavour  to  acquire  external  refinements  ; 
but,  finding-  the  progress  he  made  insufficient  to  abate  her 
dislike,  he  returned  to  his  accustomed  plainness  of  garb 
and  neglect  of  his  person  ;  and,  notwithstanding  these  dis- 
advantages, he  found  a  lady,  a  Miss  Milnes  of  Yorkshire, 
then  residing  in  London,  to  whom,  after  a  singular  court- 
ship, he  was  united  in  1778.  The  best  part  of  his  conduct 
in  this  affair  was  his  settling  her  whole  fortune,  which  was 
as  large  as  his  own,  upon  herself,  totally  out  of  his  present 
or  future  controul.  What  follows  is  of  a  less  amiable  com- 
plexion. They  retired  soon  after  their  marriage,  first  to 
Stapleford  Abbots  in  Essex,  and  afterwards  to  Anningsley, 
near  Chertsey,  in  Surrey.  Here  they  had  no  carriage ; 
no  appointed  servant  about  Mrs.  Day's  own  person  ;  no 
luxury  of  any  sort.  Music,  in  which  she  was  a  distin- 
guished proficient,  was  deemed  trivial.  She  banished  her 
harpsicliord  and  music  books.  Frequent  experiments  upon 
her  temper,  and  her  attachment,  were  made  by  him  whom 
she  lived  but  to  obey  and  love.  Over  these,  we  are  told, 
she  often  wept,  but  never  repined  ;  and  no  wife,  bound  in 
the  strictest  fetters,  as  to  the  incapacity  of  claiming  a  se- 
parate maintenance,  ever  made  more  absolute  sacrifices  to 
the  most  imperious  husband  than  did  this  lady,  whose  in- 
dependence had  been  secured.  SJie  is  even  said  to  have 
died  broken-hearted  for  his  loss,  about  two  years  after  his 
departure. 

The  whole  of  their  residence  at  Anningsley,  however, 
was  not  passed  in  inflicting  or  tolerating  caprice.  Some  of 
Mr.  Day's  experiments  were  of  a  moie  praiseworthy  kind. 
His  neighbours  of  the  lowest  class,  being  as  rough  and  as 
wild  as  the  commons  on  which  they  dwelt,  he  tried  if  b}* 
mutual  attrition   he   could  not  polish   both  ;   and,  though 

Vol.  XL  B  i; 


370  D  A  Y. 

the  event  fell  short  of  his  expectation,  he  was  not  wholly 
tinsiiccessful.  Many  of  the  peasants  he  took  to  work  on 
his  farm,  and  in  his  selection  of  them  it  was  always  his 
object  to  accommodate  those  who  could  not  find  employ- 
ment elsewhere,  until  they  could  meet  with  some  fresh 
job.  But  so  fond  were  they  of  their  new  master,  that  they 
wanted  frequently  to  be  reminded  that  their  stay  was  only 
intended  to  be  temporary.  During  the  winter  season  they 
were  so  numerous,  that  it  was  scarcely  in  the  power  of  a 
farm  of  more  than  two  hundred  acres,  of  a  family  on  the 
spot,  and  of  the  contiguous  neighbourhood,  to  raise  for 
them  a  shadow  of  employment  from  day  to  day.  Mr. 
Day,  whenever  he  walked  out,  usually  conversed  with 
them  in  the  fields,  and  questioned  them  concerning  their 
families.  To  most  of  them,  in  their  turn,  he  sent  blankets, 
corn,  and  butchers  meat.  He  gave  advice  and  medicines 
to  the  sick,  and  occasionally  brought  them  into  his  kitchen 
to  have  their  meals  for  a  few  weeks  among  the  servants. 
Once  or  twice  he  took  them  into  his  service  in  the  house, 
on  the  sole  account  of  their  bad  health,  a  circumstance 
which  by  many  persons  would  have  been  deemed  an  ample 
cause  for  dismission.  When  the  cases  of  sickness  which 
came  before  him  were  diflScult  and  critical,  he  frequently 
applied  to  London  for  regular  advice;  but  good  diet  was 
often  found  more  salutary  than  all  the  materia  medica. 
Mrs.  Day  aided  the  benevolent  exertions  of  her  husband 
by  employing  the  neighbouring  poor  in  knitting  stockings, 
which  were  occasionally  distributed  amongst  the  labourers. 
Mr.  Day's  modes  and  habits  of  life  were  such  as  the 
monotony  of  a  rural  retirement  naturally  brings  upon  a 
man  of  ingenuity  and  literary  taste.  To  his  farm  he  gave 
a  personal  attention,  from  the  fondness  which  he  had  for 
agriculture,  and  from  its  being  a  source  to  him  of  health 
and  amusement.  It  was  an  additional  pleasure  to  him, 
that  hence  was  derived  employment  for  the  poor.  He  had 
so  high  an  opinion  of  the  salutary  effects  of  taking  <xercise 
on  horseback,  that  he  erected  a  riiling  house  for  the  pur- 
pose of  using  that  exercise  in  the  roughest  weather. 
Though  he  commonly  resided  in  the  country  during  the 
whole  of  the  winter  season,  and  was  fond  of  sho(-ting  as 
an  art,  he  for  many  years  totally  abstained  from  field 
sports,  apprehending  them  to  be  cruel ;  but,  at  h^t,  iioni 
the  same  motive  of  humanity,  he  resumed  the  gun.  He 
rose  about  eight,  and  walked  out  into  liis  grounds  soou 


DAY.  371 

after  breakfast.  But  much  of  the  morning,  and  still  more 
of  the  afternoon,  were  usually  passed  at  liis  studies,  or  ia 
literary  conversations  when  he  was  visited  by  his  friends. 

At  length,  Mr.  Day,  who  suffered  no  species  of  controul 
to  interfere  with  whatever  he  fancied,  or  undertook,  fell 
a  victim  to  a  part  of  his  own  system.  He  thought  highly 
of  the  gratitude,  generosity,  and  sensibility  of  horses; 
and  that  whenever  they  were  disobedient,  unruly,  or  vi- 
cious, it  was  owing  to  previous  ill  usage  from  men.  Upon 
his  own  plan  therefore  he  reared,  fed,  and  tamed  a  fa- 
vourite foal,  and  when  it  was  time  it  should  become  ser- 
viceable, disdaining  to  employ  a  horse-breaker,  he  would 
use  it  to  the  bit  and  the  burthen  himself.  The  animal, 
however,  disliking  his  new  situation,  heeded  not  the  sooth-^ 
ing  voice  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed,  but  plunged, 
threw  his  master,  and  instantly  killed  him  with  a  kick. 
This  melancholy  accident  happened  on  Sept.  28,  1789,  aS 
he  was  returning  from  Anningsley  to  his  mother's  house  at 
Bare-hill,  where  he  had  left  Mrs.  Day.  He  was  interred 
at  Wargrave,  in  Berkshire,  in  a  vault  which  had  been  built 
for  the  family. 

In  the  very  flattering,  and  by  no  means  just  or  discri- 
minative, character  of  Mr.  Day,  given  in  the  Biographia 
Britannica,  his  life  is  represented  to  have  been  "  one  uni- 
form system  of  exertions  in  the  cause  of  humanity.  He 
thought  nothing  mis-spent  or  ill-bestowed,  which  contri- 
buted, in  any  degree,  to  the  general  sum  of  happiness.  In 
his  pursuit  of  knowledge,  though  he  deemed  it  highly 
valuable  as  a  private  and  personal  acquisition,  he  had  a 
particular  view  to  the  apphcation  of  it  to  the  purposes  of 
philanthropy.  It  was  to  be  able  to  do  good  to  others,  as 
well  as  to  gratify  the  ardent  curiosity  and  activity  of  his 
own  mind,  that  he  became  an  ingenious  mechanic,  a  well- 
informed  chemist,  a  learned  theoretical  physician,  and  an 
expert  constitutional  lawyer.  But  though  his  comprehen- 
sive genius  embraced  almost  the  whole  range  of  literature, 
the  subjects  to  vvliich  he  was  the  most  attached,  and  which  he 
ret>^arded  as  the  most  eminently  usetul,  were  those  that  are 
comprehended  in  historical  and  ethical  science.  Indeed, 
every  thing  was  important  in  his  eyes,  not  merely  as  it 
tended  to  au\unce  tiie  individual,  but  in  proportion  to  its 
ability  in  disclosing  the  powers,  and  improving  the  general 
interests,  of  the  human  species." 

On  this  high  character,  after  the  facts  we  have  exhibited, 

B  B  2 


372  DAY. 

it'  will  not  be  necessary  to  offer  any  remarks.  As  the 
epitliet  "  constitutional  lawyer"  is  here  employed,  it  re- 
mains to  be  mentioned,  that  he  was  admitted  of  the  Middle 
Temple  in  1765,  and  called  to  the  bar  in  1779.  Much  of 
this  time,  we  have  seen,  elapsed  in  his  travels,  and  pur- 
suits "©f  another  kind  ;  nor,  although  his  name  rentained  on 
the  books  of  the  society,  did  he  ever  enter  seriously  into 
the  business  of  the  profession.  In  polit*rcs  he  attached 
himself  to  no  party,  properly  so  called ;  he  was  neither 
whig  nor  tory  ;  but  joined  many  of  the  poipular  associations 
about  the  c-lose  of  the  American  war,  to  which  he  was  a 
decided  opponent,  and  wrote  some  political  pamphlets  on 
peace,  reform  of  parliament,  and  other  topics  which  agi- 
tated the  nation  at  that  period. 

His  poetical  talents,    if  not  of  the  first  rate^    evinced 
considerable    taste    and   elegance,    but   were    not   always 
equally  usefuliy  employed.      His  first   publication,  *'  The 
Uying  Negro,"  |)ublished  in  1773,  some  part  of  which  was 
written  by  his  friend  Mr.  Bicknell,  contributed  its  share  to 
create  that  general  abhorrence  of  the  slave-trade  which 
ended  at  length  in  the  abolition  of  a  traffic  so  disgraceful 
to  the  nation.    His  other  poems  were,  "  The  Devoted  Le- 
gions," 1776,  and   "  The  Desolation  of  America,"   1777, 
both  of  the  political  cast.     His  prose  effusions  on  national 
affairs   consist  of  "  The  Letters  of  Marius,  or  reflections 
upon  the  Peace,  the  East  India  Bill,  and  the  present  crisis,'* 
17a4;  the   "Fragment  of  a  letter  on  the   Slavery  of  the 
Negroes,"  expressing   his   regret  that  the  friends  of  free- 
dom in  America  had  not  learned  to  share  that  blessing  with 
their  slaves  ;  "  A  Dialogue  between  a  justice  of  peace  and 
a  farmer,"  1785;  and   *' A  Letter  to  Arthur  Young,  esq. 
on  the  bill  then  depending  in  parliament  to  prevent  the 
Exportation  of  Wool,"  1788. 

The  only  works,  however,  which  Mr.  Day  published 
that  are  likely  to  prolong  his  name,  are  those  upon  edu- 
cation. This  was  a  subject  in  which  we  have  already  seen 
he  tried  some  bold  and  ridiculous  experiments.  His  no- 
tions, however,  became  at  last  more  moderate,  and  his 
schemes  a  little  more  practicable.  He  had  a  particular 
diylike  to  the  fashionable  modes  of  education  that  prevail 
in  this  country.  Youth,  he  thought,  should  be  inspired 
with  a  hardy  spirit,  both  of  passive  and  active  virtue,  and 
led  to  form  such  habits  of  industry  and  fortitude  as  Anuld 
produce  a  manly  independence  of  character,  and  a  mind 


D  A  Y.  373 

superior  to  tlic  enticements  of  luxurious  indulgence.  With 
this  view  he  wrote  "  Tiie  History  of  Sandtbrd  and  Merton," 
12uio,  a  work  intended  for  the  use  of  children  ;  the  first 
volun^e  of  which  appeared  in  1783,  the  second  in  1786, 
and  tii.e  third  in  I78i).  These  soon  acquired  great  |)opu- 
larity,  which  is  now  on  the  decay.  Tiiey  are  harudess  at 
least,  and  amusing,  although  ill  accommodated  to  the  ac- 
tual state  of  manners.  He  ptd)lisl)ed  also  "  The  Histury 
of  little  Jack,"  a  story,  the  moral  of  which  is  this  simple 
truth,  that  "  it  is  of  very  little  consecjuence  how  a  man 
comes  into  the  world,  provided  he  behaves  well,  and  dis- 
cbarges his  duty  when  he  is  in  it."  ' 

DEANE  (Edmond),  brother  to  the  bishop  of  Ossory, 
was  born  at  Saltonstali,  in  Yorkshire,  in  1572.  At  the  ao-e 
of  nineteen  he  was  entered  of  Mcirton  collegre  in  Oxford, 
and  having  continued  tlieie,  and  at  St.  Aibau's  hall,  until 
he  was  admitted  doctor  in  medicine,  he  went  and  settled 
at  York.  In  1626,  he  published,  at  London,  "  Spada- 
crene  Anglica,  or  the  English  Spaw  Fountain,"  being  a 
brief  treatise  of  the  acid  or  tart  tountain  in  the  forest  of 
Knaresboroug.i,  in  Yorkshire.  In  a  later  edition,  there 
are  accounts  of  other  mineral  waters  found  in  the  forest. 
**  Admiranda  Chymica,  Tractatulus,  cum  Figuris,"  Frank- 
fort, 1630,  8vo,  which  has  been  several  times  reprinted. 
Sam.  Norton,  Wood  says,  was  esteemed  half  author  of 
this  book,  there  being  in  it  some  of  his  tracts;  as  "  Ca- 
thL>licon  physicorum,"  "  Mercurius  redivivus,"  dec.  Deane 
is  supposed  to  have  died  about  the  time  the  civil  wars  broke 
out,  but  m  what  year  is  not  known." 

DE  BURE.     See  BURE. 

DECEMBRIO  (Peter  Candide),  a  name  of  great  cele- 
brity in  the  literary  history  of  the  fifteenth  ceTitury,  was 
born  at  Pavia  in  1399.  In  his  youth  he  was  appointed 
secretary  to  Philip- Maria  Visconti,  and  after  the  death  of 
his  master,  while  struggling  for  the  liberties  of  the  Mi- 
lanese, Decembrio  defended  the  same  cause  with  ardour, 
while  there  was  any  prospect  of  success;  and  when  all 
failed,  he  quitted  Milan  for  Rome,  where  pope  Nicholas 
V.  made  him  apostolical  secretary.  He  returned  to  Milan 
about  twenty  years  afterwards,  and  died  there  in  1477. 
According  to  the  inscription  on  his  monument,  he  com- 

'   Biog.  Brit. — Miss   Seward's  Life  of  Dr.  Darwin,  p.  17  e»   seqq.— See  also 
Ikliss  Seward's  Letters,  vol.  II.  p.  330. 

«  Alb.  Ox.  vol.  L— Watson's  Hist.  «f  Halifax,  p.  465. 


374  D  E  C  E  M  B  R  I  O. 

posed  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  works,  but  few  of 
these  appear  to  be  known.  The  two  principal  are  the  hves 
of  Philip-Maria  Visconti,  and  Francis  Sforza,  both  dukes 
of  Milan.  Muratori  has  inserted  them  in  his  Script.  Rer. 
Ital.  vol,  XX.  In  the  first  he  has  imitated  the  style  and 
manner  of  Suetonius  with  considerable  success.  The  se- 
cond is  in  hexameter  verse,  but  his  facts  are  more  interest- 
ing than  his  poetry.  His  other  printed  works  are  treatises 
on  different  subjects;  Latin  and  Italian  poems,  several 
translations,  particularly  of  Appian  and  Q-uintus  Curtius 
into  Italian,  &c.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  his  Let- 
ters, which  are  in  several  of  the  Italian  libraries,  have  not 
been  published,  as  they  might  throw  great  light  on  the 
literary  and  political  history  of  his  age.' 

DECHALES  (Claudius  Francis  Millet),  an  excel- 
lent mathematician,  mechanic,  and  astronomer,  was  born 
at  Chamberry,  the  capital  of  Savoy,  in  1611;  and  de- 
scended from  a  noble  family,  which  had  produced  several 
persons  creditably  distinguished  in  the  church,  the  law,  and 
the  army.  He  was  a  great  master  in  all  the  parts  of  the 
mathematics,  and  printed  several  books  on  that  subject, 
which  were  very  well  received.  His  principal  performances 
are,  an  edition  of  Euclid's  Elements,  where  he  has  struck 
out  the  unserviceable  propositions,  and  annexed  the  use 
to  those  he  has  preserved ;  a  discourse  of  fortification  ; 
and  another  of  navigation.  These  performances,  with 
some  others,  were  first  collected  into  three  volumes  in 
folio,  under  the  title  of  "  Mundus  Mathematicus,"  com- 
prising a  very  ample  course  of  mathematics.  The  first 
volume  includes  the  first  six  books  of  Euclid,  with  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth;  an  arithmetical  tract ;  Theodosius's 
spherics  ;  trigonometry  ;  practical  geometry ;  mechanics  ; 
statics;  universal  geography;  a  discourse  upon  the  load- 
stone ;  civil  architecture,  and  the  carpenter's  art.  The 
second  volume  furnishes  directions  for  stone-cutting  ;  mi- 
litary architecture ;  hydrostatics;  a  discourse  of  fountains 
and  rivers ;  hydraulic  machines,  or  contrivances  for  water- 
works ;  navigation  ;  optics ;  perspective ;  catoptrics,  and 
dioptrics.  The  third  volume  has  in  it  a  discourse  of  music  ; 
pyrotechnia,  or  the  operations  of  fire  and  furnace ;  a  dis- 
course of  the  use  of  the  astrolabe;  gnomonics,  or  the  art 

*  Tiraboschi.  —  Ginguene   Hist.   Lit.  d'ltalie.  —  Fabiic.  Bibl,  Lat.   Med.— 
Saxii  Oaomast — Moreri, 


D  E  C  H  A  L  E  S.  375 

of  dialling  ;  astronomy  ;  a  tract  upon  the  calendar  ;  astro- 
logy ;  algebra;  the  method  of  indivisible  and  conic  sec- 
tions. Tiie  best  edition  of  this  work  is  that  of  Lyons, 
printed  in  1690;  which  is  more  correct  than  the  first,  is 
considerably  enlarged,  and  makes  four  vols,  in  folio.  De* 
chales,  though  not  abounding  in  discoveries  of  i)is  own,  it 
yet  allowed  to  have  made  a  very  good  use  of  those  of  other 
men,  and  to  have  drawn  the  several  parts  of  the  science 
of  mathematics  together  with  gr^at  clearness  and  judg- 
ment. It  is  said  also,  that  his  probity  was  not  interior  to 
his  learning,  and  that  both  these  qualities  made  him  gene- 
rally admired  and  beloved  at  Paris;  where  for  four  years 
together  he  read  public  mathematical  lectures  in  the  col- 
lege of  Clermont.  He  then  removed  to  Marseilles,  -^vhere 
he  taught  the  art  of  navigation ;  and  afterwards  became 
professor  of  mathematics  in  the  university  of  Turin,  where 
he  died  March  28,  1678,  aged  67.' 

DECIUS,  or  DKCIO  (Philip),  a  jurist,  who,  according  to 
Tirabos.  hi,  attained  greater  fame  during  his  lifetiian  abler 
men  after  their  death,  was  born  in  1453  at  Milan,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  the  natural  aon  of  one  of  the  dukes  of  Mi- 
lan, but  this  seems  doubtful.  He  studied  law  at  Pavia  under 
his  brother  Lancelot,  who  was  professor  in  that  university, 
and  on  his  removal  to  Pisa,  Philip  accompanied  him,  and 
continued  his  studies  under  Barth.  Socinus,  Philip  Cor- 
neus,  and  others.  In  1476  he  received  his  doctor's  decree, 
and  soon  after  was  appointed  one  of  the  university  profes^ 
sors,  in  which  he  distinguished  hitnself  by  his  art  in  dispu- 
ting, which  he  appears  to  have  practised  with  so  little  re- 
spect for  his  seniors  as  to  create  him  many  enemies,  and 
render  his  life  a  life  of  contest  with  his  brethren.  In  the 
mean  time  his  popularity  was  augmented  by  the  respect 
paid  to  him  by  kings  and  popes,  of  all  which  he  was  in  full 
enjoyment,  when  he  died  at  Sienna  in  1536.  Of  his  works, 
none  of  which  appear  to  have  perpetuated  his  fame,  the 
most  considerable  are  his  "  Consilia,"  Venice,  1581,  2  vols, 
fol.;  and   "  De  regulis  juris,"  ibid.  fol. ' 

DECKER,  or  DECKHKR  (John),  a  pious  and  learned 
Jesuit,  was  born  about  1559,  at  Hazebruck  in  Flanders, 
and  taught  philosophy  and  scholastic  theology  at  Douay, 
and  afterwards  at  Louvain.  He  was  then  sent  on  an  em- 
bassy into  Stiria,  and  became  chancellor  of  the  university 

»  Moreri  &  Diet.  Hist,  in  Chales. 

*  CJcn.  Diet.— Tiraboschi.— Moreii,— Dupin.— Saxii  Onom»3t, 


376  DECKER. 

ofGratz,  where  he  died  in  1 6 19,  aged  69.  His  principal 
work  treats  of  the  year  of  the  birth  and  of  the  death  of 
Christ.  It  is  entitled,  "  Velificatio,  seu  theoremata  de 
?innp  ortCis  ac  mortis  Domini ;  cum  tabula  chronographica,, 
4  capta  per  Pumpeium  lerosolyma,  ad  deletani  a  Tito 
■urbem;''  Gratz,  1606,  4to.  He  was  a  man  of  profound 
erudition,  and  had  acquired  great  skill  in  chronology.' 

DECKER  (Thomas),  a  dramatic  writer  of  very  little 
value,  flourished  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  The  exact  pe- 
riods of  his  birth  and  decease  are  not  ascertained ;  but  he 
could  not  have  died  young,  as  his  earliest  play  bears  date 
1600,  and  his  latest  1637.  Mr.  Oldys  thinks  that  he  was 
living  in  1638,  and  that  he  was  in  the  King's-bench  prison 
from  1613  to  1616,  or  longer.  It  is  supposed  he  had  ac- 
quired reputation  even  in  the  time  of  queen  Elizabeth, 
whose  decease  and  funeral  he  commemorates  in  his  "  Won- 
derful Year,"  1603.  He  was  contemporary  with  Ben  Jon- 
son,  with  whom  he  quarrelled.  Of  this  we  have  usually 
had  the  following  account :  that  **  Jonson,  who  certainly 
could  never   ^bear  a  rival   near  the   throne,'  has,  in  his 

♦  Poetaster,'  the  Dunciad  of  that  author,  among  many 
other  ppets  whom  he  has  satirised,  been  peculiarly  severe 
on  Decker,  whom  he  has  characterised  under  the  name  of 
Crispinus.    This  compliment  Decker  has  amply  repaid  in  his 

*  Satyromastiijj,  or  the  iintrussing  a  humourous  Poet,'  in 
which,  under  the  title  of  young  Horace,  he  has  made 
Ben  the  hero  of  his  piece."  The  provocation,  however, 
on  the  part  of  Jonson  is  completely  overthrown  by  Mr. 
Gilchrist,  whose  accurate  research  has  established  the  fact 
that  the  Crispinus  of  Jonson  was  not  Pecker,  but  Marston, 
In  the  Biog.  Diamaticais  a  long  list  of  forgotten  plays  by 
Decker;  and  his  "  Gull's  Horpbook,"  9,  scarce  little  tract 
by  him,  was  elegantly  and  cu^tflusly  reprinted  in  1813.^^ 

DE  COURCY  (Richard),  vicar  of  St.  Alkmond's  parish, 
Shrewsbury,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  descended  from 
a  very  ancient  and  respectable  family  in  that  country,  being 
distantly  related  to  the  family  of  lord  Kinsale,  to  whom  he 
was  ordained  chaplain.  He  was  educated  at  Trinity  col- 
lege, Dublin ;  and  his  acquaintance  with  several  eminent 
clergymen  brought  him  to  England.  In  1770  he  accepted 
the  curacy  of  Shavvbury  in  Shropshire,  of  which  the  rev, 

^  Moreri. — Foppcn  Bibl.  Belg. 

9  Cibber's  Lives.— Philips's  Th^atrnm,  new  edit.— Warton's  Hist,  of  Poetry  j 
see  Index. — Preface  to  the  new  editioa  of  the  Cfull's  Hornbook, 


D  E      C  O  U  R  C  Y.  377 

Mr.  Stillingfleet  was  rector.     In  January,   1774,   he   was 
presented  by  the  lord  chancellor   to    the  vicarage  of  St. 
Alkmond,  which  was  the  subject  of  a  satirical  poem,   en- 
titled "  8t.   Alkniond's   Ghost,"   by    an    inhabitant   of  the 
parish.     This  was  owing   to  a  prejudice  conceived  against 
hinq,  as  being  a  metliodist,  which,  however,  he  soon  over- 
came by  his  general  condact  and  talents.     To  a  fund  of 
information  derived  from  reading  and  reflection,  he  added 
a  degree  of  sprightliness  and  humour,   which  always  ren- 
dered  his  conversation    agreeable   on   every   subject.      la 
principK ,  he  was  warmly  attached  to  the  doctrines  of  our 
excellent  church,  as  set  forth  in  her  articles  and  homilies. 
In  the  pulpit  he  was  a  laborious  servant,   preaching  gene- 
rally twice,  and  for  some  time  belore  his  death,  thrte  tunes, 
every  Sunday,  and  a  lecture  on  Wednesday  evening,   be- 
sides readin  >•  the  resrular  service.     His  seriuons  were  ex- 
tempore.)    but  in  language  dignitied,  i'l  reasoning  perspi' 
cuous,  embellished  by  apposite  allusions,  and  ornamented 
with  many  of  the  graces  of  oratory,  and  he  never  appealed 
to  the  passions  of  his  auditors,   but  through  the  medium  of 
the  understanding:.     To  the  docjmas  of  Socinus  he  was  aa 
able  and  unwearied  adversary,  both  from   the  pulpit  and 
the  press,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  his  "  Christ  Cru- 
cified,"  2  vols.  I2mo.      He  was  particularly  attached  to  our 
venerable  constitution,  and   when   those   pernicious   doc- 
trines were  broached,   which,  under  the  delusive  and  fas- 
cinating title  of  **  Rights  of  Man,"  hurled  the  monarch  of 
France  from  his  throne,    and  threatened  to   involve  this 
country  in  the  same  dreadful  scenes  of  ruin   and  devasta- 
tion, he  strenuously  defended   the  cause  of  religion  and 
social  order.     His  natural  constitution  was  good,  and  sup- 
ported  him   under   maiiy  painful    fits   of  rheumatic   gout, 
which  weakened  his  knees  so  much,  as  to  render  it  neces- 
sary sometimes  to  sit  in  the  pulpit.     Among  many  tempo- 
ral losses,  none  seemed  to  atfect  him  so  much  as  the  death 
of  his  youngest  son  in  August,   1803,  after  serving  some 
time  as  midshipman  under  his  relation   the  hon.  capt,  De 
Courcy.     In  the  close  of  his  last  sermon  from  Revelation, 
chap.  vi.  V.  2.  on  the  evening  of  the   fast  day,   an  allusion 
to  the  memory  of  those  whom  "  we  had  resigned  into  the 
Vcy  arms  of  Death,"  so  far  affected  him,  as  to  cause  an  in- 
voluntary flow  of  tears,  and  obliged  him  abruptly  to  con- 
clude.    A  slight  cold  taken  on  that  day  brought  on  a  re- 
turn of  his  disorder,  from  which  he  gradually  recovered, 


S78  D  E     C  O  U  R  C  Y. 

until  a  few  hours  before  his  death,  when  a  sudden  attack  in 
his  stomach  rendered  medical  aid  useless.  Having  com- 
mended his  soul  into  the  hands  of  his  Redeemer,  he  sunk 
back,  and  expired,  Nov.  4,  1803.  His  memory  will  be 
long  esteemed  by  his  parishioners,  and  many  others  who 
attended  his  ministry,  during  a  period  of  thirty  years.  His 
remains  were  interred  at  Shawbury,  on  the  9th,  and  on 
that  occasion  a  great  number  of  his  friends  voluntarily 
joined  the  funeral  procession,  and  rendered  to  his  memory 
their  last  tribute  of  respect  and  gratitude.  His  published 
works  are  :  "  Jehu's  Kye-glass  on  True  and  False  Zeal  ;" 
"  Nathan's  Message  to  David,  a  Sermon;"  two  Fast  Ser- 
mons, 1776  ;  "  A  Letter  to  a  Baptist  Minister;"  "  A  Re- 
ply to  Parmenas,"  1776  ;  "  The  Rejoinder,"  on  Baptism, 
J777;  "Hints  respecting  the  Utility  of  some  Parochial 
Plan  for  suppressing  the  Profanation  of  the  Lord's  Day," 
1777;  two  Fast  Sermons,  1773;  "  Seduction,  or  the  Cause 
of  injured  Innocence  pleaded,  a  Poem,"  1782  ;  "The  Se- 
ducer convicted  on  his  own  Evidence,"  1783;  "Christ 
Crucified,"  179  1,  2  vols.;  and  a  Sermon  preached  at 
Hawkstone  chapel,  at  the  presentation  of  the  standard  to 
the  two  troops  of  North  Shropshire  yeomanry  cavalry,  in 
1798.  In  1810,  a  volume  of  his  "  Sermons"  was  published, 
with  a  biographical  preface  and  portrait.* 

DEE  (John),  a  great  mathematician,  and  greater  en- 
thusiast, the  son  of  Rowland  Dee,  gentleman  sewer  to 
Henry  VIII.  and  grandson  of  Bedo  Dee,  standard  bearer 
to  lord  de  Ferrars  at  the  battle  of  Tournay,  was  born  at 
London,  July  13,  1527;  and,  after  some  time  spent  at 
school  there,  and  at  Chelmsford  in  Essex,  sent  to  John's 
college  in  Cambridge,  where  he  informs  us  of  his  progress 
in  the  following  words:  "  Anno  1542,  I  was  sent,  by  my 
father  Rowland  Dee,  to  the  university  of  Cambridge,  there 
to  begin  with  logic,  and  so  to  proceed  in  the  learning  of 
good  arts  and  sciences  ;  for  I  had  before  been  meetly  well 
furnished  with  understanduig  of  the  Latin  tongue,  1  being 
then  somewhat  above  15  years  old.  In  the  years  1543, 
1544,  1545,  I  was  so  vehemently  bent  to  study,  that  for 
those  years  I  did  inviolably  keep  this  order,  only  to  sleep 
four  hours  every  night ;  to  allow  to  meat  and  drink,  and 
some  refreshing  after,  two  hours  every  day  ;  and  of  the 
other  eighteen  hours,  all,  except  the  time  of  going  to,  and 

»  Gent.  Mag.  vol.  LXXIII.  and  vol.  LXXX. 


DEE.  379 

being  at,  the  divine  service,  was  spent  in  my  studies  and 
learning."  In  1547  he  went  into  the  Low  Countries,  on 
purpose  to  converse  with  Frisius,  Mercator,  &c.  and  other 
learned  men,  particularly  niathemaLicians ;  and  in  about 
eight  months  alter  returned  to  Cambridge,  where,  upon 
the  toiiuding  of  IVinity  college  by  Henry  VIIl.  he  was 
chosen  one  of  the  fellows,  but  nis  bias  was  to  the  study  of 
mathematics  aivl  astronomy.  He  brought  over  with  him 
from  the  Liw  Countries  several  instruments  made  by  the 
direction  of  Frisius,  together  with  a  pair  of  large  globes 
made  by  Mercator  ;  and  his  reputrtion  was  very  high.  His 
assiduity,  however,  in  making  astronomical  observations, 
which  in  those  days  were  always  understood  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  desire  ot  penetrating  into  futurity,  brought 
some  suspicion  upon  him  ;  which  was  so  far  increased  by  a 
very  singular  accident  that  befel  him,  as  to  draw  upon  him 
the  imputation  of  a  necromancer,  which  he  deserved  after- 
wards rather  more  than  now.  i  his  affair  happened  soon 
after  his  rem  )val  from  St.  Jnhn's-college,  and  being  chosen 
one  of  tne  fellows  of  Trinity,  where  he  "  was  assigned  to 
be  the  under-reader  of  the  Greek  tongue,  Mr.  Pember 
being  the  chief  Greek  reader  then  in  frinity-coUege. 
Hereupon,"  says  he,  "  I  did  set  forth,  and  it  was  seen  of 
the  university,  a  Greek  comedy  of  Aristophanes,  named  ia 
Greek  Wiprivn',  in  Latin,  Pax  ;  with  the  performance  of  the 
,  scarabaeus,  or  beetle,  his  flying  up  to  Jupiter's  palace  with 
a  man  and  his  basket  of  victuals  on  his  back  ;  whereat  was 
great  wondering,  and  many  vain  reports  spread  abroad  of 
the  means  how  that  was  efl'ected." 

Disturbed  with  these  reports,  he  left  England  again  in 
1548,  and  went  to  the  university  of  Louvain;  where  he 
distinguished  himself  so  much,  that  he  was  visited  by  the 
duke  of  Mantua,  by  don  Lewis  de  la  Cerda,  afterwards 
duke  of  Medina,  and  other  persons  of  great  rank.  While 
he  remained  there,  sir  William  Pickerinw-,  who  was  after- 
wards  a  great  favourite  with  queen  Elizabeth,  was  his  pu- 
pil ;  and  in  this  university  it  is  probable,  although  not  cer- 
tain, that  he  had  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  conferred  upon 
him.  July  1550  he  went  from  thence  to  Paris,  where,  in 
the  college  of  Kheims,  he  read  lectures  upon  Euclid's  Lle- 
ments  with  uncommon  applause;  and  very  great  offers 
were  made  him,  if  he  would  accept  of  a  professorship  in 
that  university.  In  1551  he  returned  to  England,  was  well 
received  by  sir  John  Cheke,  introduced  to  secretary  Cecil, 


380  DEE. 

and  even  to  king  Edward  himself,  from  whom  he  received 
a  pension  of  100  crowns  a  year,  which  was  in  1553  ex- 
changed for  a  grant  of  the  rectories  of  Upton  upon  Severn, 
and  Long  Lednani  in  Lincolnshire.  In  the  reign  of  queen 
Mary,  he  was  for  some  time  very  kindly  treated ;  but  after- 
wards came  into  great  trouble,  and  even  danger  of  his  life. 
At  the  very  entrance  of  it.  Dee  entered  into  a  correspond- 
ence with  several  of  the  lady  Elizabeth's  principal  ser- 
vants, while  she  was  at  Woodstock  and  at  Milton  ;  which 
being  observed,  and  the  nature  of  it  not  known,  two  in- 
formers charged  him  with  practising  against  the  queen's 
life  by  inchantments.  Upon  this  he  was  seized  and  con- 
fined ;  but  being,  after  several  trials,  discharged  of  trea- 
son, he  was  turned  over  to  bishop  Bonner,  to  see  if  any 
heresy  could  be  found  in  him.  After  a  tedious  persecu- 
tion, August  19,  1555,  he  was,  by  an  order  of  council, 
set  at  liberty  ;  and  thought  his  credit  so  little  hurt  by  what 
had  happened,  that  Jan.  15,  1556,  he  presented  '*  A  sup- 
plication to  queen  Mary,  for  the  recovery  and  preservation 
of  ancient  writers  and  monuments."  The  design  was  cer- 
tainly good,  and  would  have  been  attended  with  good  con- 
sequences, if  it  had  taken  effect ;  its  failure  cannot  be  too 
deeply  regretted,  as  there  was  then  an  opportunity  of  re- 
covering many  of  the  contents  of  the  monastic  libraries 
dispersed  in  Edward's  time.  Dee  also  appears  to  have  had 
both  the  zeal  and  knowledge  for  this  undertaking.  The 
original  of  his  supplication,  which  has  often  been  printed, 
is  still  extant  in  the  Cotton  library  ;  and  we  learn  from  it, 
that  Cicero's  famous  work,  "  De  Republica,"  was  once 
extant  in  this  kingdom,  and  perished  at  Canterbury. 

Upon  the  accession  of  queen  Elizabeth,  at  the  desire  of 
lord  Robert  Dudley,  afterwards  earl  of  Leicester,  he  de- 
livered son\ewhat  upon  the  principles  of  the  ancient  astro- 
logers, about  the  choice  of  a  fit  day  for  the  coronation  of 
the  queen,  from  whoni  he  received  many  promises;  never- 
theless, his  credit  at  court  was  not  sufficient  to  overcome 
the  public  odmm  against  him,  on  the  score  of  magical  in- 
cantations, which  was  the  true  cause  of  his  missing  several 
preferments.  He  was  by  this  time  become  an  author;  but, 
as  we  are  told,  a  little  unluckily;  for  his  books  were  such 
as  scarce  any  pretended  to  understand,  written  upon  mys- 
terious subjects  in  a  very  mysterious  manner.  In  the 
spring  of  1564  he  went  abroad  again,  to  present  the  book 
which  he  dedicated  to  the  then  emperor  Maximilian,  and 


DEE.  381 

returned  to  England  the  same  summer.  In  1568,  he  en- 
gaged the  earl  of  Pembroke  to  present  the  queen  with  his 
**  Propitduniata  Aphoristica;"  and  two  years  after,  sir 
Henry  Biliingsley's  translation  of  Euclid  appeared,  with 
Dee's  preface  and  notes;  which  did  him  more  honour  iljan 
all  his  performances,  as  furnishing  incontestable  proofs  of  a 
more  than  ordinary  skill  in  the  mathematics.  In  1571,  we 
find  him  in  Lorrain  ;  where  falling  dangerously  sick,  the 
queen  was  pleased  to  send  him  two  physicians.  After  his 
return  to  England,  he  settled  himself  in  his  house  at  IMort- 
lake  ;  where  he  prosecuted  his  studies  with  great  diligence, 
and  collected  a  noble  library,  consisting  of  4000  volumes, 
of  which  above  a  fourth  part  were  MSS.  a  gveat  number  of 
mechanical  and  mathematical  instruments,  a  collection  of 
seals,  and  many  other  curiosities.  His  books  only  were 
valued  at  2000/.  It  was  upon  his  leaving  the  kingdom  in 
1583,  that  the  populace,  who  always  believed  him  to  be 
one  who  dealt  with  the  devil,  broke  into  his  house  at 
Mortlake  ;  where  they  tore  and  destroyed  many  things, 
and  dispersed  the  rest  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  greatest 
part  of  them  were  irrecoverable. 

In  1572,  anew  star  appeared  in  Cassiopeia's  chair,  which 
gave  Dee  an  opportunity  of  distinguishing  himself  in  his 
own  way.  March  1575,  queen  Elizabeth  went  to  his 
house,  to  see  his  library  ;  but  having  buried  his  wife  only 
a  few  hours  before,  he  could  not  entertain  her  in  the  man- 
ner he  would  have  done,  nor  indeed  did  she  enter  the 
house ;  but  he  brought  out  to  her  majesty  a  glass  of  his, 
which  had  occasioned  much  discourse ;  shewed  her  the 
properties  of  it,  and  explained  their  causes,  in  order  to 
wipe  off  the  aspersion,  under  which  he  had  so  long  la- 
boured, of  being  a  magician.  In  1577,  a  comet  appear- 
ing, the  queen  sent  for  him  to  Windsor,  to  consult  him 
upon  it,  and  was  pleased  with  his  conversation,  and  pro- 
mised him  her  royal  protection,  notwithstanding  the  vulgar 
reports  to  his  pr-jjudice.  The  year  after,  her  majesty 
being  greatl^^  indisposed,  Dee  was  sent  abroad  to  confer 
with  the  German  physicians.  The  queen,  hinting  her  de- 
sire to  be  thoroughly  informed  as  to  her  title  to  countries 
discovered  in  different  parts  of  the  globe  by  subjects  of 
England,  Dee  applied  himself  to  the  task  with  great  vi-^ 
gour  ;  so  much,  that  October  3,  1580,  wliich  was  not  three 
weeks  after,  he  presented  to  the  queen,  in  her  garden  at 
Kichmond,  two  large  rolls,  in  which  those  countries  were 


382  DEE. 

geographically  described  and  historically  explained  ;  with 
the  addition  of  all  the  testimonies  and  authorities  necessary 
to  support  them,  from  records,  and  other  authentic  vouch- 
ers. These  she  very  graciously  received  ;  and,  after  din- 
ner, the  same  day  conferred  with  Dee  about  them,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  some  of  her  privy-council,  and  of  the  lord-trea- 
surer Burleigh  especially.  His  next  employment,  of  con- 
sequence enough  to  be  remembered,  was  the  reformation 
of  the  calendar ;  which,  though  it  never  took  effect  until 
the  reign  of  George  II.  was  one  of  his  best  performances, 
and  did  him  great  credit. 

We  come  now  to  that  period  of  his  life,  by  which  he  has 
been  most  known,  though  for  reasons  which  have  justly 
rendered  him  least  regarded.  He  was  certainly  a  man  of 
uncommon  parts,  learning,  and  application ;  and  might 
have  distinguished  himself  in  the  scientific  world  if  he  had 
been  possessed  of  solid  judgment;  but  he  was  very  cre- 
dulous, superstitious,  extremely  vain,  and,  we  suspect,  a 
little  roguish  ;  but  we  are  told  that  it  was  his  ambition  to 
surpass  all  men  in  knowledge,  which  carried  him  at  length 
to  a  desire  of  knowing  beyond  the  bounds  of  human  fa- 
culties. In  short,  he  suffered  himself  to  be  deluded  into 
an  opinion,  that  by  certain  invocations  an  intercourse  or 
communication  with  spirits  might  be  obtained ;  from  whence 
he  promised  himself  an  insight  into  the  occult  sciences. 
He  found  a  young  man,  one  Edward  Kelly,  a  native  of 
Worcestershire,  who  was  already  either  rogue  or  fool 
enough  for  his  purpose,  and  readily  undertook  to  assist 
him,  for  which  he  was  to  pay  him  50/.  per  annum.  Dec. 
2,  1581,  they  began  their  incantations  ;  in  consequence  of 
which,  Kelly  was,  by  the  inspection  of  a  certain  table, 
consecrated  for  that  purpose  with  many  superstitious  ce- 
remonies, enabled  to  acquaint  Dee  with  what  the  spirits 
thought  fit  to  shew  and  discover.  These  conferences  were 
continued  for  about  two  years,  and  the  subjects  of  them 
were  committed  to  writing,  but  never  published,  though 
still  preserved  in  Ashmole's  museum.  In  the  mean  time, 
there  came  over  hither  a  Polish  lord,  one  Albert  Laski, 
palatine  of  Siradia,  a  man  of  great  parts  and  learning; 
and,  as  a  late  writer  observes,  of  large  fortune  too,  or  he 
would  not  have  answered  tiitir  purpose.  This  nobleman 
was  introduced  by  the  earl  of  Leicester  to  Dee,  and  be- 
came his  constant  visitant.  Having  himself  a  bias  to  those 
superstitious  arts,  he   was,  after   much  in  treaty,  received 


DEE.  383 

by  Dee  into  their  company,  and  into  a  participation  of 
their  secrets.  Within  a  short  time,  the  palatine  of"  Siradia, 
returning  to  his  own  country,  prevailed  with  Dee  and 
Kelly  to  accompany  him,  upon  the  assurance  of  an  ample 
provision  there ;  and  accordingly  they  went  all  privately 
from  Mortlake,  in  order  to  embark  for  Holland  ;  from 
whence  they  travelled  by  land  through  Germany  into  Po- 
land, where,  Feb.  3,  1584,  they  arrived  at  the  principal 
castle  belono-inc:  to  Albert  Laski.  When  Laski  had  been 
sufficiently  amused  with  their  fanatical  pretences  to  a  con- 
versation with  spirits,  and  was  probably  satisfied  that  they 
were  impostors,  he  contrived  to  send  them  to  the  emperor 
llodolph  11.  who,  being  quickly  disgusted  with  their  im- 
pertinence, declined  all  farther  interviews.  Upon  this 
Dee  applied  himself  to  Laski,  to  introduce  him  to  Stephen 
king  of  Poland ;  which  accordingly  he  did  at  Cracow, 
April  1585.  But  that  prince  soon  detecting  his  delusions, 
and  treating  him  with  contempt,  he  returned  to  the  em- 
peror's court  at  Prague  ;  from  whose  dominions  he  was 
soon  banished  at  the  instigation  of  the  pope's  nuncio,  who 
gave  the  emperor  to  understand,  how  scandalous  it  ap- 
peared to  the  Christian  world,  that  he  should  entertain  two 
such  magicians  as  Dee  and  Kelly.  At  this  time,  and  while 
these  confederates  were  reduced  to  the  greatest  distress, 
a  young  nobleman  of  great  power  and  fortune  in  Bohemia, 
and  one  of  their  pupils,  gave  them  shelter  in  the  castle  of 
Trebona ;  where  they  not  only  remained  in  safety,  but 
lived  in  splendour,  Kelly  having  in  his  possession,  as  is  re- 
ported, that  philosophical  powder  of  projection,  by  which 
they  were  furnished  with  money  very  profusely.  Some 
jealousies  and  heart-burnings  afterwards  happened  between 
Dee  and  Kelly,  that  brought  on  at  length  an  absolute  rup- 
ture. Kelly,  however,  who  was  a  younger  man  than  Dee, 
seems  to  have  acted  a  much  wiser  part ;  since  it  appears, 
from  an  entry  in  Dee's  diary,  that  he  was  so  far  intimi- 
dated as  to  deliver  up  to  Kelly,  Jan.  158y,  the  powder, 
about  which  it  is  said  he  had  learned  from  the  German 
chemists  many  secrets  which  he  had  not  communicated  to 
Dee. 

7'he  noise  their  adventures  made  in  Europe  induced 
queen  Elizabeth  to  invite  Dee  home,  who,  in  May  16S9, 
set  out  from  Trebona  towards  England.  He  travelled  with 
great  pomp  and  solemnity,  was  attended  by  a  guard  of 
horse  j   and,  besides  waggons  for  his  goods,  had  no  less 


384.  DEE. 

than  three  coaches  for  the  use  of  his  family ;  for  he  had 
niarried  a  second  wife,  and  had  several  children.  He 
landed  at  Gravesend  Nov.  23  ;  and,  Dec.  9,  presented 
himself  at  Richmond  to  the  queen,  who  received  him  very 
graciously.  He  then  retired  to  his  house  at  Mortlake ; 
and  collecting  the  remains  of  his  lihrary,  which  had  been 
torn  to  pieces  and  scattered  in  his  absence,  he  sat  down  to 
study.  He  had  great  friends;  received  many  presents; 
yet  nothing,  it  seems,  could  keep  him  from  want.  Thfe 
queen  had  quickly  notice  of  this,  as  well  as  of  the  vex- 
ations he  suffered  from  the  common  people,  who  perse- 
cuted him  as  a  conjuror,  which  at  that  time  was  not  a  title 
equivalent  to  an  impostor.  The  queen,  who  certainly 
listened  oftener  to  him  than  might  have  been  expected 
from  her  good  sense,  sent  him  money  from  time  to  time  : 
but  all  would  not  do.  At  length  he  resolved  to  apply  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  procure  some  settled  subsistence  ; 
and  accordingly,  Nov.  9,  1592,  he  sent  a  memorial  to  her 
majesty  by  the  countess  of  Warwick,  in  which  he  very 
earnestly  pressed  her,  that  commissioners  might  be  ap- 
pointed to  hear  his  pretensions,  and  to  examine  into  the 
justness  of  his  wants  and  claims.  This  had  a  good  effect ; 
for,  on  the  22d,  two  commissioners,  sir  Thomas  Gorge, 
lint,  and  Mr.  Secretary  Wolley,  were  actually  sent  to 
Mortlake,  where  Dee  exhibited  a  book,  containing  a  dis- 
tinct account  of  all  the  memorable  transactions  of  his  life, 
those  which  occurred  in  his  last  journey  abroad  only  ex- 
cepted ;  and,  as  he  read  this  historical  narration,  he  pro- 
duced all  the  letters,  grants,  and  other  evidences  requisite 
to  confirm  them,  and  where  these  were  wanting,  nauied 
living  witnesses.  The  title  of  this  work,  the  original  of 
which  still  remains  in  the  Cotton  library,  and  a  transcript 
of  it  among  Dr.  Smith's  written  collections,  runs  thus  ; 
*'  The  compendious  rehearsal  of  John  Dee,  his  dutiful  de- 
claration and  proof  of  the  course  and  race  of  his  studious 
life  for  the  space  of  half  an  hundred  years  now  by  God's 
favour  and  help  fully  spent,  and  of  the  very  great  injuries, 
damages,  and  indiginties  which  for  these  last  nine  years 
he  hath  in  England  sustained,  contrary  to  her  majesty's 
very  gracious  will  and  express  commandment,  made  unto 
the  two  honourable  commissioners  by  her  most  excellent 
majesty  thereto  assigned,  according  to  the  intent  ol  the 
most  humble  supplication  of  the  said  John,  exhibited  to 
her  most  gracious  majesty  at  Hampton-court,  ann.  1592, 
Nov.  9." 


DEE.  385 

Upon    the  report   made   by   the   commiKsioiiers   to  the 
queen,   he  received  a  present,  and  promises  of  prefern)ent; 
but  these  promises  ending-  like  the  former  in  nothing,  he 
engaged  his  patroness,  the  countess  of  AVarvvick,  to   pre- 
sent another  short  Latin   petition  to  the  queen,   but  with 
what  success  does  not  appear.      In  Dec.  1594,  however,  he 
obtained  a  grant  to  the  chancelh)rship  of  St.  Paul's.     But 
this  did  not   answer  his  end  :   upon  which  he  appUed  him- 
iielf  ne.xt  to  Whitgift,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  a  let- 
ter, in  wfiich  he  inserted  a  large  account  of  all  the  books 
he  had  either  publisricd  or  written  :   and  in  consequence  of 
tiiis  letter,   together  with  other  applications,  he  obtained  a 
grant  of  the  wardenshipof  Manchester- college.    Feb.  1  596, 
he  arrived  with  his  wife  and  family  in  that  town,   and  vvas 
installed  in  his  new   charge.     He  continued  there  about 
seven  years ;   which  he  is  said  to  have  spent   in  a  trouble- 
some and    unquiet  manner.     June   1604,  he  presented  a 
petition    to    king  James,    carnesily  desiring   him   that    he 
might  be  brought  to  a  trial ;  that,  by  a  formal  and  judicial 
sentence,   he  might  be  delivered  from  those  suspicions  and 
surmises  which  had    created  him  so  much  uneasiness  for 
upwards  of  fifty  years.     But  the  king,  although  he  at  first 
patronized  him,  being  better  informed  of  the  nature  of  his 
studies,  refused  him  any  mark  of  royal  countenance  and 
favour  ;  which  must  have   greatly  affected  a  man   of  that 
vain  and  ambitious  spirit,  which  all  his  misfortunes  could 
never  alter  or  amend.    November  the  same  year  he  quitted 
Manchester  with  his  family,  in  order  to  return  to  his  house 
at   Morilake  ;  where   he  remained  but  a  short  time,  being 
now  very  old,  infirm,  and  destitute  of  friends  and  patrons, 
who  had  generally  forsaken  him.     We  find  him  at   Mort- 
lake  in  1607  ;  where  he  had  recourse  to  his  former  invo- 
cations, and   so   came   to  deal   again,  as   he  fancied,  with 
spirits.      One  Hickman  served  him  now,  as  Kelly  had  done 
formerly.     Their  transactions  were  continued  to  Sept.  7, 
1607,   which  is   the  last  date  in   that  journal  published  by 
Casaubon,   whose   title   at  large  runs  thus  :   "  A  true  and 
faithful  relation   of  what  passed  for  n)any  years   between 
Dr.   John   Dee,  a  mathematician  of  great  i'ame  in   queen 
Elizabeth   and  king  James  their  reigns,  and  some  spirits, 
tending,   had  it  succeeded,  to  a  general  alteration  of  most 
states  and  kingdoms  in  the  world.      His  private  conferences 
with  llodolph  emperor  of  Germany,   Stephen  king  of  Po- 
land, and  divers  other  princes,  about  it.     The  particulars 
Vol.  XI.  C  c 


586  DEE. 

of  bis  cause,   as  it  was  agitated  in  the  emperor's  court  liy 
tiie  pope's  intervention.     His  banishment  and  restoration 
in    part ;    as   also    tbe   letters    of  sundry    great  men    and 
princes,  some  whereof  were  present  at  some  of  tbese  con- 
ferences, and   apparitions   of  spirits  to  tbe  said  Dr.  Dee, 
out  of  the  original  copy  written  with  Dr.  Dee's  own  hand, 
kept  in   the    libiary   of  sir  Thomas  Cotton,  knt.  baronet. 
With   a  preface  confirming  the  reality,  as  to  the  point  of 
spirits,  of  this  relation,  and   shewing  tbe  several  good  uses 
that  a  sober  Christian  may  make  of  all.     By  Meric  Casau- 
bon,  D.D.Lond.  1059,""  fob* 

This  book  made  a  great  noise  upon  its  first  publication  ; 
and  many  years  after,  the  credit  of  it  was  revived  by  one 
of  the  ablest  maihematicians  and  philosophers  of  his  time, 
the   celebrated   Dr.  Hooke  ;   who   believed,  that  not  only 
Casaubon,  but  archbishop  Usher,  and  other  learned  men, 
tvere  entirely   mistaken   in  their  notions  about  this  book  ; 
and  that,  in   reality,  our  author  Dee  never  fell  under  any 
such  delusions,   but  being  a  man  of  great  art  and  intrigue, 
made  use  of  this   strano^e  method    of  writinc:  to  conceal 
things  of  a  political  nature,  and,  instead  of  a  pretended 
enthusiast,  was  a  real  sp}'.     But  there  are  several  reasons 
which  will  not  suffer  us  to  suppose  this.     One  is,  that  Dee 
began  these  actions  in  England  ;  for  which,  if  we  suppose 
the  whole  treatise  to  be  written  in  cypher,  there  is  no  ac- 
count can  be  given,  any  more  than  for  pursuing  the  same 
practices  in  king  James's  time,  who  cannot  be  imagined  to 
have  used  him  as  a  spy.     Another,  that  he  admitted  fo- 
reigners, such  as  Laski,  Rosenberg,   &c.  to  be  present  at 
these  consultations  with  spirits  ;  which  is  not  reconcileable 
with  the  notion  of  his  being  intrusted  with  political  secrets. 
Lastly,  upon  the  return  of  Dee  from  Bohemia,  Kelly  did 
actually  send  an  account  to  the  queen  of  practices  against 
her  life  ;  but  then    this  was  in  a  plain  and  open   method, 
which  would  never  have  been  taken,  if  there  had  been  any 
such   mysterious   correspondence   between   Dee   and  her 

*  He  prctenrkfl,  that  a  black  stone,  property  of  the  Inte  diikc  of  Arcyt^, 

or  speculum,  which   we   have  already  and    is  nov!  in  lord  Orford's  collection 

mentioned   he  shewed  to  queen  Eliza-  at  Slrawberry-hill.      Il  appears,  upon 

beth,  and  which  he  made  great  use  of,  examiuatidn,  to  be  nothing   but  a  po- 

was    brought  him  by  aiicr^ls,  and  that  lished  piece  of  canal   co.jI.      But  this 

he   was  particularly  intimate  with  Ka-  is  what  Butler  means,  when  he  says, 

phael  and  Gabriel."   This  stone  was  in  „  j^^„y  ,,ij  ^||  |,„  f^,^^^  ^p^n 

the   collection    of  the  earls  «f  Peter-  rj,,^^.  .j^.^j,,^  looking-glass,  a  stone." 
borough,  whence  it  came  to  lady  r.li-  ii^d.  I'arl  JI.  cant.  3,  v.  631-2- 

f.abelh  Germanic.     It  was    next   the 


DEE.  S87 

ministers,  as  Ilooke  suggests.  In  tlie  latter  end  of  his  life 
he  became  miserably  poor.  It  is  liighiy  probable  that  he 
remained  under  these  delusions  to  his  death  ;  for  he  was 
actually  providing  for  a  new  journey  into  Germany,  when, 
worn  out  by  age  and  distempers,  hs  died  in  1608,  aged 
eighty,  and  was  buried  at  Morilake,  He  left  behind  him 
a  numerous  posterity  both  male  and  female,  and  among 
these  his  eldest  son  Arthur,  who  is  mentioned  in  our  next 
article. 

The   books    which   Dee   printed   and  published   are,   I. 
*' Propaedumata   aplioristica  ;    de  pra^stantioribus   quibus- 
dam  naturce  virtutibiis   aphorismi,"   Lond.  1558,  12mo.     2. 
"  Monas  hieroglyphica  ad   regem  Romanorum  Maximilia- 
num,"  Antwerp,    1564.     3.   "  Epistola  ad  eximium   ducis 
Urbini   mathematicum,   Fredericum   Commandinum,  pra- 
fixa  libello    Machometi   Bagdedini  de  superficierum  divi- 
sionibus,  edita  opera   Devi   et  ejusdem    Commandini  Ur- 
binatis,"  Pisauri,  1570.    4.  *'  ^i'he  British  Monarchy,  other- 
wise called  the  Petty  Navy  lloyal,"    1576,   a  MS,   in  the 
Ashmolean   museimi.      5.  "  Pretace  Mathematical    to  the 
English  Euclid,  published  by  sir  Heniy  Billingsley,    knt.'* 
where   he   says  many   more   arts  are   wholly   invented   by 
name,   definition,  property,  and  use,   than  either  the  Gre- 
cian or  Roman  mathematicians  have  left  to  our  knowledge, 
1570.     6.  "  Divers  and  many  Annotations  and  Inventions 
dispersed  and  added  after  the  tenth   book  of  the  English 
Euclid,"    1570.      7.  "  Epistola  prasHxa  ephemeridibus  Jo- 
annis  Feldi  a  1557,  cui  rationem  declaraverat  ephemerides 
conscribendi."     8.  "  Parallatica;  commentationis  praxeos- 
que    nucleus    quidam,"   Lond.    1573.     This    catalogue    of 
Dee's  printed   and   published  books  is  to   be  found  in  hii» 
Compendious    Rehearsal,    &.c.   as  well   as  in  his  letter  to 
arcbbishop  Whitgift.     Among   them  are,     1.  "The   great 
volume  of  famous  and  rich  discoveries,   wherein  also  is  the 
history  of  king  Solomon   every  three  years,  his  Ophirian 
voyage,  the  originals  of  presbyter  Joannes,  and  of  the  first 
great  cham   and  his  successors  for  many  years  following. 
The  description  of  divers  wonderful   isles   in  the  northern, 
Scythian,  Tartarian,  and    tlie   other   most    northern   seas, 
and  near   under  the  north   pole,  by  record   written  1200 
years  since,  with  divers  other  rarities,"    1576.     2.  "The 
British  complement  of  the   perfect  art   of  Navigation.     A 
great  volume.    In  wliich  are  contained  our  queen  Elizabeth 
her  tables  gubernautic  for  navigation  by  the  paradoxal  com- 

CC  2 


3S§  BEE. 

pass,  invented  Ijy  liim  anno  1557,  and  navigation  by  great 
circles,  and  for  longitudes  and  latitudes,  and  the  variation 
of  the  compass,  finding  most  easily  and  speedily,  yea,  if 
need  be,  in  one  minute  of  tiire,  and  sometimes  without 
sight  of  sun,  moon,  or  stars,  with  many  other  new  and 
needful  inventions  gubernautic,"  1576,  3.  "  De  modo 
evangelii  Jesu  Christi  pnblicandi,  propagandi,  stabiliendi- 
que,  inter  infideles  atlanticos.  Volumen  magnum  libris 
distinctum  quatuor :  quorum  primus  ad  serenissimam  nos- 
tram  potentissimamque  reginam  Elizabetham  inscribitur  ; 
secundus  ad  summos  privati  sutt;  sacrejc  miijestatis  consilii 
senatores;  tertius  ad  Hispaniarum  regem  Philippum  ;  quar- 
tus  ad  pontificem  Romanum,"  15SI.  4.  "  Speculum  uni- 
tatis,  sive,  apologia  pro  fratre  Rogerio  Bacone  Anglo  ;  in 
quo  docetur  nihil  ilium  per  dsemoniorum  fecisse  auxilia, 
sed  philosophum  fuisse  maximnm  naturaliterque,  et  modis 
homini  Christiano  Ileitis  maximas  fecisse  res,  quas  indoc- 
tnm  solet  vul^us  in  dicmoniorum  referre  facinora,"  1557. 
5.  "  De  nubium,  solis,  lunre,  ac  reliquorum  planetarum, 
imo,  ipsius  stelliferi  ccfcli,  ab  intimo  terrae  centro  distantiis, 
mutuisque  intervallis,  et  eorundem  omnium  magnitudine, 
liber  aTrohiKnuoi;,  ad  Edvardum  Sextum,  Anglicc  regem," 
1551.  6.  "  The  philosophical  and  poetical  original  occa- 
sions of  the  configurations  and  names  of  the  heavenly  Aste- 
risms  :  written  at  the  request  of  the  honl)le.  lady,  lady  Jane, 
duchess  of  Northumberland,"  15  53.  7.  "  De  hominis  cor- 
pore,  spiritu,  et  anima  :  sive,  microcosmicum  totius  na- 
tnralis  philosophise  compendium."  8.  "  De  unico  mago 
et  triplice  Herode,  eoque  antichristiano,"  1570.  9.  "  Rei- 
])ublicaR  BritannicEc  synoj)sis,"  in  English,  1562.  10. 
"  Cabbalffi  Hebraicse  conipendiosa  tabella,"  1562.  II. 
"  De  itinere  snbterraneo,"  lib.  2.  1560.  12.  "  Trochilica 
inventa,"  lib.  2.  1558,   &c.  &c. ' 

DEE  (ArtiiupOj  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born  at  Mort- 
lake,  in  Surry,  July  1 4th,  1579,  and  educated  at  West- 
minster school  under  Camden,  and  at  the  university  of  Ox- 
ford. He  accompanied  his  father  in  his  travels  over  France, 
Germany,  and  Poland,  and  w^as  early  initiated  by  him  iil 
the  same  mysteries  which  he  himself  had  so  unfruitfully  fol- 
lowed. Returning  to  England,  he  settled  in  Westminster, 
intending  to  practise  medicine  there  ;  but,  being  rejected 

•  Life,  by  Smith  in  Vh^,  Eriiditissimorum  Virorum,  and  in  ITparne's  Jonn. 
Confraris  et  Monachi  Glastoijiensis  Chronica,  '2  vols.  Svo,  \'T26. — Ciog.  Brit. 
*— Alb.  Ox.  vol.  II. — Niceion^  vol.  I. — Lysons's  Environs,  vol.  I. 


DEE.  389 

by  the  college  of  physicians,  to  whom  he  applied  for  a 
licence,  he  went  to  Russia,  and,  on  the  recommendation 
of  king  JauK's,  was  appointed  pliysician  to  the  czar,  an 
office  he  continued  to  hold  for  fourteen  yenrs.  He  now 
retnrnt'd  to  Entiiand,  wlicre  he  soon  lost  the  money  he  had 
acqoired  in  Russia,  in  search  of  the  grand  elixir,  the 
reahty  of  the  existence  of  which  he  never  doubted.  He  is 
said  to  have  died  at  Norwich  in  extreme  poverty,  in  Sep- 
tember 1651.  He  sulfered  the  censures  of  the  college  of 
physicians,  Goodall  says,  for  hanging  out  a  table  at  his 
door,  exposing  to  sale  several  medicines,  by  which  he 
professed  to  cure  diseases.  While  at  Paris  he  published, 
in  1631,  "  Fasciculus  cbymicus,  abstrusce  scientiic  Her- 
nieticiP,  ingressum,  progressumj  coroniden),  explicans," 
12  mo.  ' 

DEERING  (Charles),  or  DOERING,  an  ingenious 
but  unfortunate  piiysician,  was  a  native  of  Saxony,  wlio 
took  his  degrees  in  physic  at  Leyden,  and  came  to  Eng- 
land, according  to  Mr.  Martyn,  in  the  train  of  a  foreign 
ambassador  ;  but  another  account  says,  that  soon  after  lie 
came  to  London  he  was  appointed  secretary  to  the  British 
ambassador  at  the  Russian  court.  Both  accounts  may  pro- 
bably be  true.  Dr.  Pulteney  thinks  he  settled  in  London 
about  1720,  where  he  practised  physic  and  midwifery, 
and  having  a  strong  bias  to  the  study  of  botany,  became 
one  of  the  members  of  the  society  established  by  Dr.  Dil- 
lenius  and  Mr.  Martyn,  which  subsisted  from  1721  to  1726. 
In  1736  he  removed  to  Nottingham,  under  the  recom- 
mendation of  sir  Hans  Sloane,  and  was  at  first  well  re- 
ceived, and  very  successful  in  his  treatment  of  the  small- 
pox, which  disease  was  highly  ejiidemical  at  that  place 
soon  after  his  arrival;  but  he  incurred  the  censure  of  the 
faculty  by  his  pretensions  to  a  nostrum.  In  1737  he  pub- 
lished "  An  Account  of  an  improved  method  of  treating 
the  Small-pox,  in  a  letter  to  sir  Thomas  Parkyns,  hart." 
8vo.  By  this  it  appears,  that  his  medicine  was  of  the  an- 
tiphlogistic kind,  and  that  he  was  one  of  the  first  who  in- 
troduced the  cool  resjimen. 

Dr.  Deering  shewed  his  attachment  to  botanical  pursuits 
by  his  assiduity  in  collecting  such  ample  materials  for  his 
"  Catalogue,"  in  less  than  two  years  after  settling  at  Not- 
tingham. It  was  published  under  tlie  title  "  A  Catalogue 
of  Plants  naturally  growing  anil   commonly  cultivated  \\\ 

'  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  11. — Lysons's  Euvirons,  v©l.  I. — Rees's  CyclopxJia. 


390  D  E  E  R  I  N  G. 

divers  parts  of  England,  more  esjjecially  about  Notting"- 
ham,   &c."  1738,   8vo.     This  useful  work  might  have  beea 
greatly  enlarged  and  improved  by  the  author  iiad  he  been 
endowed  with  some  degree  of  prudence,  or  a  happier  tem- 
per ;  but  owing  to  the  want  of  these  he  very  early  lost  the 
little  interest  which  liis  character  and  success  had  at  first 
sained.     Yet  he  was  a  man  of  ofreat   learning:,   and    master 
of  nine  languages,  ancient  and  modern.     He  had  also  a 
knowledge  of  designing,  and  was  an   ingenious  mechanic. 
After  his  failure   in  the  practice  of  medicine,   iiis  friends 
attempted    several    schemes    to   alleviate    his    necessities. 
Among  others,  they  procured  him  a  commission  in  the  re- 
giment raised  at  Nottingham  on  account  of  the  rebellion; 
but  this  proved  more  honourable  than  profitahle.     He  was 
afterwards  employed  in  a  way  more  agreeable  to  his  genius 
and  talents  ;  being  furnished  with  materials,  and   enabled, 
with   the  assistance  of  John  Plumtree,  esq.  and  others,  to 
write  "  The  History  of  Nottingham,"  which,  however,  he 
did  not  live  to  publish.      He  had  been  troubled  with   the 
gout  at  a  very  early   period,  and  in   the  latter  stage  of  his 
life  he  suilered  long  continements  in  this  disease,  and  be- 
came asthmatical.     Being  at  length  reduced  to  a  degree 
of  poverty  and   dependence,  which  his    spirit  could   not 
sustain,  oppressed  with  calamity  and  cotnplicated  disease, 
he  died  April  12,  1749.     Two   of  his  principal   creditors 
administered  to  his  effects,  and  buried  him  in   St.   Peter's 
church-yard,  opposite  the  house  in  which  he  lived.      He 
left  a  Hortus  Siccus  of  the  plants  in   his  "  Catalogue,"  a 
volume  of  paintings  of  the  fungi,  by   his  own  hand,  and 
some  MSS.      His  "  Nottingham.ia  Vetus  et  Nova,"  or  His- 
tory  of  Nottingham,  was  published  by  his  administrators, 
George  Ayscough,  printer,  and  Thomas  Willington,  drug- 
gist, at  Nottingham,  in  1751,  4to,  embellished  with  plates. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  articles  in  this  volume  is,  a 
complete  description  of  that  curious  machine,  the  stocking- 
frame,  invented  upwards  of  two  centuries  ago  by  William 
Lee,  M.  A.  of  St.  John's  college,   Cambridge,  a  native  of 
Woodborough,  near  Nottingham.     AH  the  parts  are  sepa- 
rately and    minutely  described  in  the  technical  terms,  and 
illustrated  by  two  views  of  the  whole,  and  by  a  large  table, 
delineating  with  great  accurac}',  every  constituent  part  of 
the  machine.  * 

'  Pulteney's  Hist.  Sketrlics  of  Botany. — Preface  to  Martvn's  Dissertations  o* 
the  iEneids. — Gent.  Mag.  LUI.  1U14. 


DEFOE.  391 

DEERIXG.     See  BERING. 

DE  FOE  (Daniel),  a  voluminous  and  very  ingenious 
political  and  miscellaneous  writer,  was  born  in  London 
about  1663.  He  was  the  son  of  James  Voe,  citizen  and 
butcher,  of  the  parish  of  St.  Giles's,  Cripplegate  :  and  his 
grandfather  was  Daniel  Foe,  of  Elton,  in  Northampton- 
shire, yeoman.  How  he  came  by  the  name  of  De  Foe  we 
are  not  informed  ;  but  his  enemies  have  asserted,  that  he 
assumed  the  JJe  to  avoid  beiiiii  thouoht  an  Englishman.  It 
certainly  appeared,  from  the  books  of  the  chamberlain  of 
London  (which  were  some  time  ago  destroyed  by  a  fire  at 
Guildhall)  tiiat  our  author  was  admitted,  by  the  name  of 
Daniel  Foe,  to  the  freedom  of  the  ciiy  by  birth,  Jan.  26, 
1687-8,  The  family  of  De  Foe  were  protestant  dissenters, 
and  Daniel,  who  had  received  his  education  at  a  dissent- 
ing academy  at  Newington  Green,  near  Loudon,  was  a 
dissenter  upon  principle  and  rejection.  From  his  various 
writings,  says  his  biographer,  it  is  plain  that  he  was  a 
zealous  defender  of  the  ])rinciples  of  the  dissenters,  and  a 
strenuous  su[)porter  of  their  ]iolitics,  before  the  liberality 
of  our  rulers  had  freed  this  conduct  from  danger.  He 
merits  the  praise  which  is  due  to  sincerity  in  manner  of 
thinking,  and  to  uniformity  in  habits  of  acting,  whatever 
obloquy  may  have  been  cast  on  his  name,  by  attributing 
writings  to  him,  which,  as  they  belonged  to  otliers,  he  was 
studious  to  disavow. 

De  Foe  commenced  author  before  he  was  twenty-one. 
His  first  [)ublication,  in  1G83,  was  a  "Treatise  against 
the  Turks;"  which  was  written  against  a  sentiment  very 
prevalent,  at  that  time,  in  favour  of  the  Ottomans,  as  op- 
posed to  the  house  of  Austria.  He  was  a  man  who  would 
fight  as  well  as  write  ;  ami,  before  he  was  three-and-twenty, 
in  June  1685,  he  appeared  in  arms  for  the  duke  of  Mon- 
mouth. Of  this  exploit  he  boasted  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life,  when  it  was  no  longer  dangerous  to  avow  his  partici- 
pation in  that  imprudent  enterprise.  To  escape  from  the 
dangers  of  battle  was  not  wonderful;  but  how  he  avoided 
the  sanguinary  rage  of  Jefferies  has  not  been  accounted  for. 
It  is  certain,  that  his  zeal  was  too  ardent  to  be  inactive. 
In  a  tract  against  the  proclamation  for  the  repeal  of  the 
penal  laws  in  1687,  he  very  efficaciously  opposed  the  iin- 
constitutional  measures  pursued  by  king  James  II.  ;  warn- 
ing the  dissenters  against  the  secret  danijers  of  the  insidi- 
ous  toleration  with  which  that  infatuated  monarch  attempted 


392  DEFOE. 

to  deceive  them.  But  neither  this  tract,  nor  that  agrainst 
the  Turks,  did  he  think  proper  to  re-publish  in  the  subse- 
quent collection  of  his  writings. 

As  he  had  endeavoured  to  promote  the  revolution  by  his 
pen  and  his  sword,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  participating 
in  the  pleasures  and  advantages  of  that  great  event.  Dur- 
ing the  hilarity  of  the  moment,  the  lord-mayor  of  London 
asked  king  William  to  partake  of  the  city  feast  on  the  29th 
of  October,  1689.  Every  honour  was  paid  to  the  sovereign 
of  tlie  people's  choice.  A  regiment  of  volunteers,  com- 
posed of  the  chief  citizens,  and  commanded  by  the  cele- 
brated earl  of  Peterborough,  attended  the  king  and  queen 
from  Whitehall  to  the  Mansion-house.  Amont^:  these 
troopers,  gallantly  mounted,  and  richly  accoutred,  was 
Daniel  De  Foe. 

While  our  author  thus  courted  notice,  he  is  said  to  have 
acted  as  a  hosier  in  Freeman's-court,   Cornhill  ;  but  with 
the  usual   imprudence  of  superior  genius,  he  was  carried 
by  his  vivacity  into  companies  who  were  gratified   by  his 
wit.      He  spent  those  hours  with  a  society  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  polite  learning  which  he  ought  to  have  employed 
in    the   calculations    of    the    counting-house;    and    being 
obliged  to  abscond  from  his  creditors  in  1692,  he  attributed 
those  misfortunes  to  the  war,   which   were  probably   owing 
to  his  own  misconduct.     An  angry  creditor  took  out  a  com- 
mission of  bankruptcy,   which  was  superseded  on  the  pe- 
tition of  those  to  whom  he  was  most  indebted,  who  accepted 
a   composition   on   his   single   bond.     This   he   punctually 
paid,   by  the  efforts  of  unwearied  diligence.      But  s  .sme  of 
those  creditors,  who  had  been  thus  satisfied,   falling  after- 
ward  into    distress    themselves,   De  Foe    voluntarily    paid 
them  their  whole  claims;  beina;  then  in  risino;  circnmstan- 
ces  from  king  William's  favour.     Iliis  is  an  example  of 
integrity,  which  it  would  be  unjust  to  conceal.     Benig  re- 
proached,  in  1705,   by  lord    Haversham,  with   mercenari- 
ness,  our  author  feelingly  observes,  how,  with  a  numerous 
family,  and  no  helps  but  his  own  industry,  he  had  forced 
his  way   with   uiuliminished    diligence,     through   a  sea   of 
misfortunes,  and  reduced  his  debts,  exclusive  of  compo- 
sition,  from  seventeen  thousand  to  less   than  five  thousand 
pounds.      He  had  been  concerned  in  some  pantile  works 
near  Tilbury- fort,  and   these   he   continued   to   carry   on, 
though  probably  with  no  great  success. 


DEFOE.  393 

While  he  was  yet  under  thirty  years  of  age,  and  had  mor- 
tified no  great  man  hy  his  satire,  nor  offended  any  party  by 
his  pamphlets,  he  liad  acquired  friends  by  his  powers  of 
pleasing,   who  did  not,   wiih  the  usual  instiibility  of  friend- 
ship,  desert  him  in  his  distresses.     Tliey   offered   to  settle 
liin)  as  a  factor  at  Cadiz,  where,  as  a  trader,  he  had  some 
previous  correspondence.     But  as  he  assures  us  in  his  old 
age,   "  Providence,   which  had  other  work   ibr  him  to  do, 
pUiced  a  secret  aversion  in  his  mind  to  quitting  England." 
He  was  prompted  by  a  vigorous  mind  to  think  of  a  variety 
of  schemes  for  the  benefit  of  his  country;  and  in  January 
1697,   he  published  his  "  Essay  upon   Projects."     In  this, 
among  otiier   projects  which  shew  an   extensive  range  of 
knowledge,  he  suggests  to  king  William  the  imitation  of 
Louis  XIV,  in  the   establishment  of  a  society  for  encou- 
raging polite  learning,  refining  the  English  language,  and 
preventing  barbarisms  of  manntrs.     Prior  and  Swift  after- 
wards recommended  the  same,  as  far  as  regards  language. 
In  1695,   De  Foe  was  appointed  accomptant  to  the  com- 
missioners for  managing  the   duties  on  glass  ;   but  he  lost 
this  place  in  1099,   when  the  tax  was  suppressed  by  act  of 
parliament. 

In  1701  appeared  the  first  effort  of  his  satirical  muse, 
*'  The  True-born  Englishman,"  a  vindication  of  king 
William,  who  had  been  insulted  by  Tutchen,  in  a  poem 
-entitled  "  The  Foreigners."  The  sale  of  De  Foe's  poem 
was  i)iodigious,  and  he  was  amply  rewarded,  being  ad- 
mitted to  personal  interviews  with  the  king,  who  certainly 
was  no  reader  of  poetry.  After  the  piece  of  Ryswick,  he 
jjublished  "  Au  argument  to  prove  that  a  standing  army, 
w;th  consent  of  parliament,  is  not  inconsistent  with  a  fiee 
government,"  and  on  this  interesting  topic  disjilays  great 
powers  of  reasonino;  and  ele2:ance  of  lanoruaoe.  Afterwards 
when  the  grand  jury  of  Kent  presented  to  the  con)mons. 
May  8,  17ol,  a  petition,  which  desired  them  "to  mind 
the  public  business  more,  and  their  private  heats  less  ;'* 
Messrs.  Culpeppers,  Polhill,  Hamilton,  and  Champneys, 
who  avowed  this  intrepid  paper,  were  committed  to  the 
Gate-house,  in  W^estminster,  amidst  the  applauses  of  their 
countrymen.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  De  Foe  dictated 
a  remonstrance,  which  was  signed  "  Legion,"  and  which 
has  been  recorded  in  history  for  its  bold  truths  and  se- 
ditious petulance.     His    zeal   induced   him  to  assume    a 


S94  .  DEFOE. 

woman's  dress,  while  he  delivered  this  paper  to  Ilarle}',  the 
speaker,  as   he   entered   the   house  of  commons.     It  was 
then  also  that  our  author  published  "  The  Original  Power 
of  the  collective  Body  of  the  People  of  England,  examined 
and  asserted."     I'his  seasonable  treatise  he  dedicated  to 
king  William,  in  a  dignified  strain  of  nervous  eloquence. 
*'  It  is  not  the  least  of  the  extraordinaries  of  your  majesty's 
character,"  says  he,   "  that,  as  you  are  king  of  your  peo- 
ple, so  you  are  the  peoj)le's  king ;  a  title,   which,  as  it  is 
the  most  glorious,  so  it  is  the  most  indisputable."     To  the 
lords  and  commons  he  addresses  himself  in  a  similar  tone  : 
the  vindication  of  the  original  right  of  all  men  to  the  go- 
vernment of  themselves,  he  tells  them,  is  so  far  from  being 
a  derogation  from,  that  it  is  a  confirmation  of  their  legal 
authority.     "  Every  lover  of  liberty,"  says  his  biographer, 
Mr.  Chalmers,  *'  must  be  pleased   with  the  perusal  of  a 
treatise,  which  vies  with  Locke's  famous  tract  in  powers  of 
reasoning,  and   is   superior  to  it  in   the  graces  ot  style." 
De   Eoe,  soon   after,  published   "  Tlie    Freeholder's   Plea 
against  Stockjobbing  Elections  of  Parliament  Men." 

How  much  soever  king  William  may  have  been  pleased 
with  the  "  True-born  Englishman,"  he  was  perhaps  little 
gratified  by  our  author's  "  Reasons  against  a  War  with 
France."  This  is  one  of  the  finest  tracts  in  the  EnglisVi  lan- 
guage. After  remarking  tlie  universal  cry  of  the  people 
lor  war,  our  author  declares  he  is  not  against  war  with 
France,  provided  it  be  on  justifiable  grounds;  but,  he 
hopes,  England  will  never  be  so  inconsiderable  a  nation, 
as  to  make  use  of  dishonest  pretences  to  bring  to  pass  any 
of  her  designs  :  and  he  says,  that  he  wlio  desires  we  shouid 
end  the  war  honourably,  ouoht  to  desire  also,  that  we  be- 
gin  it  fairly.  The  death  of  king  William  deprived  De  Foe 
of  a  protector.  Of  this  monarch's  memor}',  he  says,  that 
he  never  patiently  heard  it  abused,  nor  ever  could  do  so  : 
and  in  this  gratitude  to  a  royal  benefactor  there  is  certainly 
much  to  praise. 

In  the  midst  of  the  furious  contest  of  party,  civil  and 
religions,  on  the  accession  of  queen  Anne,  our  author  was 
engaged  in  a  controversy  concerning  the  Occasional  Con- 
formity of  Dissenters ;  a  controversy,  which  in  those  days 
occasioned  vehement  contests  between  the  two  houses  of 
parliament,   but  which  is  now  probably  silenced  for  ever. 

"  During  the  first  fury  of  high-fiying,"  says  he,  "  I  fell 
a  sacrifice  for  writing  against  the  madness  of  that  high 


DEFOE.  395 

party,  and  in  the  service  of  the  dissenters."  He  alhides 
here  to  "  The  shortest  Wiiy  with  the  Dissenters,"  which 
he  pubhshed  in  1702,  and  which  is  a  piece  of  exquisite 
irony,  tijougii  there  are  certainly  passages  in  it  that  might 
have  shewn  considerate  men  how  much  the  author  had 
been  in  jest.  He  comf)lains  how  hard  it  was,  that  this 
should  not  liave  been  j)erceived  by  all  the  town,  and  that 
not  one  man  can  see  it,  either  churciiman  or  dissenter. 
This  is  one  of  the  strongest  proofs,  how  much  the  minds  of 
men  were  inllanied  against  each  other,  and  how  little  the 
virtues  of  mutual  forbearance  and  personal  kindness  existed 
amid  the  clamour  of  conti'adiction,  whicli  then  shook  the 
kingdoin,  and  gave  rise  to  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
events  in  our  annals.  Tiie  commons  shewed  their  zeal, 
however  they  may  have  studied  their  dignity,  by  prose- 
cuting several  libellists.  On  Feb.  25,  17o3,  a  complaint 
was  made  in  the  house  of  commons,  of  "  The  Shortest 
Way  with  the  Dissenters,"  and  it  was  ordered  to  be  burnt 
by  the  hands  of  the  common  hangman. 

During  the  previous  twenty  years  of  his  hfe,  his  biogra- 
pher observes,   De  Foe  had  been  unconsciously  charging  a 
mine,  which  now  blew  himself  and  his  family  into  the  air. 
He  had  fought  for  Monmouth  ;   he  had  opposed  king  James; 
he  had  vindicated  the  revolution  ;  he  had  panegyrized  king 
William  ;    he   had    defended   the   rights   of  the   collective 
body  of  the  people  ;  he  had  displeased  lord  Godplphin  and 
the  duke  of  Marlborouoh,  by   objecting   to  the  Flanders 
war;   he  had  bantered  sir  Edward  Seymour,  and  sir  Clu'is- 
topher  Musgrave,  the  tory   leaders  of  the  commons;  he 
had  just  ridicided  all  the  high-Hyers  in  the  kingdom  ;  and 
he  was  at  last  obliojed  to  seek  for  shelter  from  the  indi<rna- 
tion  of  persons  and  parties,   thus  overpowering  and  resist- 
less.    A  proclamation  was  issued  January  1703,  offering  a 
reward   of  50/.    for  discovering  his  retreat.      He  \^as  de- 
scribed  in    the   Gazette,  as  "  a  middle-sized   spare  man, 
about  forty  years  old,  of  a  brown  complexion,  and  dark 
hrown  hair,  thuugli  he  wears  a  wig,  having  a  hook  nose,  a 
sharp  chin,  grey  eyes,  and  a  large   mole  near  his  mouth.'* 
He  immediately  published  an  explanation  of  the  reputed 
libel,   but  being  apprehended,   he  was  tried,   found   guilty 
of  the  libel  al)ove-mentioneci,  and  sentenced  to  the  pillory, 
fine,  and    imprisonment.      I'hus    was    he    a   second    time 
ruined,    for   by   this   affair,    he  asserts  that  he  lost  a!)ove 
3500/.     ^Vhile  in  Newgate  he  amused  some  of  his  dreary 


396  D  E      F  O  E. 

hours,  by  "  A   H3'mn  to  the  Pillor}^,"  in  which  there  are 
some  generous  seiuiments  and  pointed  satire. 

In  1703  he  corrected  for  the  press  a  collection  of  his 
writings,  which,  with  several  things  not  his,  had  been  al- 
ready published  by  a  piratical  printer.  In  this  collection 
there  are  twenty-one  treatises  in  poetry  and  ])rose,  begin- 
jiing  with  the  "  True-born  Englishman,"  and  ending  with 
*'  The  Shortest  Way  to  Peace  and  Union."  To  this  vo- 
lume was  prefixed  the  first  print  of  De  Foe,  to  which  was 
afterwards  added  the  apt  inscription,  "  Laudatur  et  alget." 
While  in  prison  also,  he  projected  "  The  Review,"  a  pe- 
riodical paper  in  4to,  first  published  in  February  1704, 
and  intended  to  treat  of  news,  foreign  and  domestic  ;  of 
politics,  British  and  European  ;  of  trade,  particular  and 
universal.  But  our  author  foresaw,  that  however  instruc- 
tive, the  world  would  never  read  it,  if  it  were  not  diverting. 
He,  therefore,  skilfully  instituted  "  A  Scandal  Club,"  which 
discussed  questions  in  divinity,  morals,  war,  trade,  lan- 
guage, poetry,  love,  marriage,  drunkenness,  and  gaming. 
*'  TJius  it  is  easy  to  see,"  says  Mr.  Chalmers,  "  that  the 
Review  pointed  the  way  to  the  Tatlers,  Spectators,  and 
Guardians,  which,  however,  have  treated  those  interesting 
topics  with  more  delicacy  of  humour,  more  terseness  of 
style,  and  greater  depth  of  learning  :  yet  has  De  Foe  niany 
passages,  both  of  prose  and  poetry,  which,  for  refinement 
oi  wit,  neatness  of  expression,  and  efficacy  of  moral,  would 
do  honour  to  Steele  or  to  Addison." 

In  July  1704,  our  author  published  "The  Storm;  or, 
a  Collection  of  the  most  remarkable  Casualties  which  hap- 
pened in  the  Tempest,  on  the  23d  of  November,  170  3," 
In  this,  De  Foe  displays  more  science  and  literature  than 
he  has  been  generally  supposed  to  possess. 

While  he  lay  friendless  in  Newgate,  his  family  ruined, 
and  he  himself  without  ho|ies  of  deliverance,  a  verbal  mes- 
sage was  brought  him  from  sir  Robert  Harley,  speaker  of 
the  house  of  ctmimons,  afterwards  earl  of  Oxford,  desiring 
to  know  what  he  could  do  for  him.  Harley  approved,  pro- 
babl3',  of  the  principles  and  conduct  of  De  Foe,  and  uiight 
foresee,  that,  during  a  factious  age,  such  a  genius  could 
be  conv(;rted  to  many  uses.  Our  author  was  content  to 
intimate  a  wisli  only  for  his  release;  and  when  Harley  be- 
came secretary  of  state,  in  April  1704,  and  had  frequent 
opportunities  of  representing  the  unmerited  sufferings  of 
I^e  Foe  to  the  queen  and  to  the  treasurer,  lord  Godolphin; 


D  E      F  O  K.  397 

yet  our  author  continued  four  niontiis   longer  in  prison. 
The  queen,   however,    inquired    into    his    circumstances; 
and  h)rd  Godolphin   sent  a  considerable  sum   to  his  wife, 
and  to  him  money  to  pay   his  fine  and  the  expence  of  his 
discharjje.      Here  is  tl)e  foundation,   he  says,   on  which   he 
built  his  first  sense  of  duty  to  the  queen,  and  the  indelible 
bond  of  gratitude  to  his  (irst  benefactor,  as  he  calls  Harley. 
*'  Let  any  one  say,   then,"   he  asks,   "  what  I   could  have 
done,  less  or  more  than  I  have  done  for  such  a  queen  and 
such  a  benefactor?" — All  this  he  manfully  avowed  to  tlie 
world,   when  queen  Anne  lay  lifeless  as  king  William,  hia 
first  patron  ;  and  when   the  earl  of  Oxford,   in  the  vicissi- 
tude of  party,   liad  been  persecuted   by  faction,   and  over- 
powered,  though  not  conquered,  by  violence.     Being  re- 
leased from  Newgate,  in  Au;^nist  1704,   De  Foe,   in  order 
to  avoid  the  town-talk,  retired  to  St.  Edmund's  Bury  ;  but 
his  retreat  did  uot  prevent  persecution.      Dyer,  the  news- 
writer,  propagated   that   De   Foe    had    fled   from  justice; 
Fox,  the  bookseller,  published,  that   he  had  deserted   his 
security;  and    Stephen,   a   state-messenger,    every   where 
said,  that  lie  had  a  warrant  to  apprehend  him  ;  all  which 
arose  from  petty  malice,  for  when   De  Foe  informed  the 
secretary  of  state  where  he  was,   and  when  he  would  ap- 
pear, he  was  told  not  to  fear,  as  he  had  not  transgressed. 

In  1705,  De  Foe  published  "The  Consolidator ;  or, 
Memoirs  of  sundry  Transactions,  from  the  World  in  the 
iVloon,"  in  which  he  makes  the  lunar  politicians  debate  the 
policy  of  (>harles  XII.  in  pursuing  the  Saxons  and  Poles. 
Perhaps  it  was  on  this  occasion,  that  the  Swedish  ambas- 
sador was  so  ill-advised  as  to  complain  against  De  Foe,  for 
merited  ridicule  of  a  futile  warfare.  He  was  next  enoanred 
in  a  controversy  with  sir  Humphrey  Mackworth,  about  his 
bill  for  employing  the  poor  ;  and  in  1705,  he  published  a 
second  volume  of  the  "  Writings  of  the  author  of  the  True- 
born  Englishman."  His  writings,  thus  collected  into  vo- 
lumes, were  soon  a  third  time  printed,  with  the  addition  of 
a  key.  The  second  volume  of  1705,  contains  eighteen 
treatises  in  prose  and  rhyme. 

The  year  1705  was  a  year  of  disquiet  to  De  Foe,  from 
the  persecutions  of  party.  When  his  alfairs  led  him  to  the 
west  of  England  in  August,  September,  and  October,  a 
project  was  formed  to  send  him  as  a  soldier  to  the  army, 
at  a  time  when  footmen  were  taken  from  the  coaches  as  re- 
cruits ;  but,  conscious  of  his  being  a  freeholder  of  England, 


398  DEFOE. 

and  a  liveryman  of  London,  he  knew  that  such  characters 
could  not  be  violated  with  impunity.  When  some  of  the 
western  justices,  of  more  zeal  of  party  than  sense  of  duty, 
heard  from  his  opponents  of  De  Foe's  journe}-,  they  deter- 
mined to  apprehend  him  as  a  vagahoiid  ;  but  our  author, 
who  had  personal  courage  in  a  high  degree,  reflected,  thac 
to  face  danger  is  most  effectually  to  prevent  it.  In  bin 
absence,  real  suits  were  commenced  against  him  for  ficti- 
tious debts  ;  but  De  Foe  advertised,  that  genuine  claima 
he  would  fairly  satisfy.  All  these  circumstances  were  pub- 
lished in  "  The  Review." 

De  Foe  began  the  year  1706  with  "  A  Hymn  to  Peace," 
occasioned  by  the  two  houses  of  parliament  joining  in  one 
address  to  the  queen.  On  the  4tl)  of  May,  he  published 
*'  An  Essay  at  removing  National  Prejudices  against  an 
Union  with  Scotland."  In  July,  he  published  "  Jure  Di- 
vino,"  a  satire  against  tyranny  and  passive  obedience, 
which  had  been  delayed,  for  fear,  as  he  declares,  of  par- 
liamentary censure.  This  satire,  says  the  preface,  had 
never  been  published,  had  not  the  world  seemed  to  be 
going  mad  a  second  time  with  the  error  of  passive  obe- 
dience and  non-resistance.  "  And  because  some  men  re- 
quire," says  he,  "  more  explicit  answers,  I  declare  my 
belief,  that  a  monarchy,  according  to  the  present  consti- 
tution, limited  by  parliament,  and  dependent  upon  law^, 
is  not  only  the  best  government  in  the  world,  but  also  the 
best  for  this  nation  in  particular,  most  suitable  to  the 
genius  of  the  people,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  whole 
body." 

About  this  time,  lord  Godolphin,  who  knew  how  to  dis- 
criminate characters,  determined  to  employ  De  Foe  on  a 
very  important  commission.  The  queen  said  to  him,  while 
he  kissed  her  hand,  she  had  such  satisfaction  in  iiis  former 
services,  that  she  had  again  appointed  him  for  another  af- 
fair, which  was  something  nice,  but  the  treasurer  would 
tell  him  the  rest.  In  three  days  he  was  sent  to  Scotland. 
His  knowledge  of  commerce  and  revenue,  his  powers  of 
insinuation,  and  his  readiness  of  pen,  were  deemed  of  no 
small  utility  in  promoting  the  union.  He  accordingly  ar- 
rived at  Edinburgh,  in  October  170fi  ;  and  we  find  him  no 
inconsiderable  actor  in  that  greatest  of  all  good  works.  He 
attended  the  committees  of  parliament,  for  whose  use  he 
made  several  of  the  calculations  on  the  subject  of  trade  and 
taxes,     lie  endeavoured  to  confute  all  that  was  published 


DEFOE.  399 

by  the  writers  in  Scoiland  against  the  union  ;  and  he  had 
his  share  of  clanger,  since,  as  he  says,  "  he  was  watched 
by  the  mob  ;  liad  his  chamber  windows  insuhed  ;  but,  by 
the  prndence  ol'  iiis  friends,  and  God's  providence,  he 
escaped."  In  the  midst  of  this  great  scene  of  business  and 
tumult,  ho  colK^cted  the  documents,  which  he  afterward 
published  for  the  instruction  of  jjosterity,  with  regard  tt» 
one  of  the  most  diflicult  transactions  in  our  annals. 

In  December  170G,  he  published  *'  Caledonia,"  a  poem, 
in   honour  of  the   Scotch  nation.     On  Jan.  [G,  the  act  of 
union  was   passed  by  the  parliament  of  Scotland,  and  De 
Foe  returned  to  London  in  February  1707.     How  he  was 
rewarded  by  the  ministers  who  derived  a  benefit  from  his 
services,  is  uncertain.      Mr.  Chalmers  is  inclined  to  think 
it  was  by  a  pension.      He  published   his   "  History  of  the 
Union"  in  1709,  thon^i^h  he  was  eufiaEred  in  other  lucubra- 
tions,  and  gave  the  world  a  "  Review"  three  times  a  week. 
His  history  seems  to  have  been  little  noticed  when  it  first 
appeared,  yet  it   was  republished   in    17  12;    and   a   tliird 
time,  by   his   biographer,  in    1786,  when   the  union   with 
Ireland   had   become   a  popular  topic.     In    1709   De  Foe 
published  his  "  History  of  Addresses,"  which  was  followed, 
in  17  11,  by   a  second  volume,  with  remarks  serious  and 
coiuical.     His  purpose  plainly  was  to  abate  the  public  fer- 
ment with  regard  to  Sacheverel,  whose  conduct,  by  a  kind 
of  fatality  or  folly,   occasioned  some  eventful  changes. 

De  Foe  now  lived  at  Newington,  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances, and  was  principally  employed  in  writing  the 
"  Review,"  which  at  last  he  relinquished  after  nine  years 
continuance,  and  began  to  write  "  A  General  History  of 
Trade,"  vihich  he  proposed  to  ])ublish  in  monthly  num- 
bers;  but  this  history,  which  exhibits  the  ingenuity  and 
strength  of  De  Foe,  extended  only  to  two  numbers.  He 
appears,  at  last,  to  have  been  silenced  by  noise,  obloquy, 
and  insult,  and  linding  himself  treated  in  this  manner,  he 
declined  writing  at  ail,  and  secreted  himself,  for  a  time, 
at  Halifax,  or  on  the  borders  of  Lancashire,  where,  ob- 
serving the  insolence  of  the  Jacobite  party,  he  wrote  the 
following  tracts,  "  A  Seasonable  Caution;"  "What,  if  the 
Pretender  shouldcome  ?"  "  Reasons  against  the  Succession 
of  the  House  of  Hanover;"  and  "  What  if  the  Qneer> 
should  die  :"  these  pamplilets^  whose  titles  were  ironical, 
were  so  much  approved  by  the  zealous  friends  of  the  pro- 
testant  succession,  thai  they  were  diligent  to  disperse  tbeni 


400  D  E     F  O  Ei 

through  the  most  distant  counties  ;  and  yet  the  reader 
will  le^rn,  with  indignation,  that  tor  these  De  Foe  was  ar- 
rested, obliged  to  give  800/.  bail,  contrary  to  the  bill  of 
rights,  and  prosecuted  by  information,  in  Trinity  term, 
1713.  This  prosecution  was  instituted  by  the  absurd  zeal 
of  Mr.  auditor  Benson.  (Jur  author  attributes  it  to  the 
malice  of  his  enemies,  who  were  nunierous  and  powerful. 
No  inconsiderable  people  were  heard  to  say,  that  they 
knew  the  books  were  against  the  pretender,  but  that  De 
Foe  had  disobliged  them  in  other  things,  and  they  resolved 
to  take  this  advailtage  to  punish  him.  He  was  prompted 
by  consciousness  of  innocence  to  defend  himself  in  the 
*'  Review"  during  the  prosecution,  whicii  offended  the 
judges,  who,  being  infected  with  the  violent  spirit  of  the 
times,  committed  him  to  Newgate  in  Easter  term  1713. 
He  was,  however,  soon  released,  on  making  a  proper  sub- 
mission, and  the  earl  of  Oxford  being  still  in  power,  that 
nobleman  procured  him  the  queen's  pardon,  in  November 
17  Ki. 

"  No  sooner  was  the  queen  dead,"  says  De  Foe,  "  but 
the  rage  of  men  increased  upon  me  to  that  degree,  that 
their  threats  were  such  as  I  am  unable  to  express.  Though 
I  have  written  nothing  since  the  queen's  death  ;  yet  a 
great  many  things  are  called  by  my  name,  and  I  bear  the 
answerers  insults.  1  have  not  seen  or  spoken  with  the  earl 
of  Oxford,  since  the  king's  landing,  but  once;  yet  he 
bears  the  reproach  of  my  writing  for  him,  and  I  the  rage 
of  men  for  doing  it." — De  Foe  appears,  indeed,  to  have 
been  stunned  by  factious  clamour,  and  overborne,  though 
not  silenced,  by  unmerited  obloquy.  He  probably  lost  his 
original  appointment  when  the  earl  of  Oxford  was  finally 
expelled.  Instead  of  meeting  with  reward  for  his  zealous 
services  in  support  of  the  protestant  succession,  he  was, 
on  the  accession  of  George  I,  discountenanced  even  by 
those  who  had  derived  a  benefit  from  his  active  exertions. 
Thus  cruelly  circumstanced,  he  published  in  1715,  his 
*'  Appeal  to  Honour  and  Justice,  being  a  true  account  of 
his  conduct  in  public  affairs."  As  a  motive  for  this  intre- 
pid measure,  he  affectingly  says,  "  By  the  hints  of  mor- 
tality, and  the  infirmities  of  a  life  of  sorrow  and  fatigue,  I 
have  reason  to  think,  that  I  am  very  near  to  the  great 
ocean  of  eternity  ;  and  the  time  may  not  be  long  ere  I 
embark  on  the  last  voyage  :  wherefore,  I  think  1  should 
aiake  even  accounts  with  this  world  before  I  go,  that  no 


DEFOE.  401 

slanders  may  lie  against  my  heirs,  to  disturb  them  in  the 
peaceable  possession  of  their  father's  inheritance,  his  cha- 
racter."— Before  he  could  finisii  his  appeal,  he  was  struck 
with  an  apoplexy.  After  languishing  more  than  six  weeks, 
neither  able  to  go  on,  nor  likely  to  recover,  his  friends 
would  delay  the  publication  no  longer.  "  It  is  the  opinion 
of  most  who  know  him,"  says  Baker,'the  publisher,  "  that 
the  treatment  which  lie  here  complains  of,  and  others  of 
which  he  would  have  spoken,  have  been  the  cdu^e  of  this 
disaster,"  When  the  ardent  mind  of  De  Foe  reflected  on 
what  he  had  done,  and  what  he  had  suffered,  his  heart 
melted  in  despair,  and  the  year  1715  may  be  regarded  as 
the  period  of  our  author's  political  life.  The  death  of 
Anne,  and  the  accession  of  George  the  first,  seem  to  have 
convinced  him  of  the  vanity  of  party-writing.  And  from 
this  eventful  epoch,  he  appears  to  have  studied  how  to 
meliorate  the  heart,  and  how  to  res^ulate  the  practice  of 
life. 

In  1715  he  published  "  The  Family  Instructor,"  in 
three  parts  ;  first,  relating  to  fathers  and  children  ;  2d,  to 
masters  and  servants ;  3d,  to  husbands  and  wives.  To 
this  he  added  a  second  volume,  in  two  parts ;  first,  re- 
lating to  family  breaches ;  2dly,  to  the  great  mistake  of 
mixing  the  passions  in  the  managing  of  children.  Both 
voliunes  consist  of  a  series  of  pleasiiig  and  instructive  dia- 
logues. His  "  Religious  Courtship,"  published  in  1722, 
inay  be  considered  as  a  third  volume  ;  the  design  is  equally 
moral,  and  the  manner  equally  attractive. 

In  1719  he  pubif^lied  the  "  Life  and  surprising  Adven- 
tures of  Robinson  Crusoe,"  the  most  popular  of  all  his 
performances  The  reception  of  this  extraordinary  work 
v(^as  imme>liate  and  universal  ;  and  Taylor,  who  purchased 
the  manuscript  after  every  bookseller  had  refused  it,  is 
said  to  have  gained  by  it  1000/,  lu  the  same  year  he  pub- 
lished a  second  volume  of  this  extraordinary  work,  of  which 
it  may  be  sai  J,  that  at  the  distance  of  a  century  it  has  lo>t 
rtone  of  its  original  attraction.  Had  all  his  other  writinos 
perished,  the  history  of  the  author  of  Robinson  Crusoe 
must  lia\e  he  >n  an  object  of  literary  curiosity.  In  1720 
he  published  "  Serious  Reflexions  during  tiie  Life  of  Ro- 
biiison  Crusoe,  with  his  vision  of  the  angelic  world,"  This 
was  intended  as  a  third  volume,  but  the  public  very  justly 
df  c  i  led  tliat  a  third  volume  was  inadmissil)le,  and  it  was 
soo  .  f  r^otten.     As  to  the  story,  that  De  Foe  had  surrep- 

\ou  XI.  D  » 


402  DEFOE. 

titiously  obtained  the  papers  of  Alexander  Selkirk,  a  Scotch 
mariner,  who  having  suffered  shipwreck,  lived  on  the 
island  of  Juan  Fernandez  four  or  five  years,  it  is  scarcely 
Worthy  of  serious  refutation.  Yet  what  is  needful  to  repel 
this  cliarge  has  been  amply  afforded  by  his  late  biographer. 
Selkirk,  in  truth,  had  no  papers  t6  lose  ;  and  internal  evi- 
dence is  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  pure  and  entire  origi- 
nality of  De  Foe's  inimitable  fiction. 

In  1720  he  published  "  The  complete  Art  of  Painting,"  ' 
which  he  "  did  into  English"  from  the  French  of  Du  Fres- 
tioy.  Dryden  had  before  given  a  translation  of  this  poem, 
which  has  been  esteemed  for  its  knowledge  of  the  sister 
arts,  and  Mason's  since  has  supplanted  both.  What  could 
tempt  De  Foe  to  this  undertaking,  it  is  not  easy  to  dis- 
cover. Dryden  has  been  praised  for  relinquishing  vicious 
habits  of  composition,  and  adopting  better  models  for  his 
muse.  De  Foe,  after  he  had  seen  the  correctness  of  Pope, 
remained  regardless  of  sweeter  numbers.  His  politics  and 
his  poetry  would  not  have  preserved  his  nrime  beyond  the 
fleeting  day.  It  does  not  appear  that  De  Foe  lived  at  this 
period  in  pecuniary  distress  ;  for  his  genius  and  industry 
were  very  productive;  and  in  17i22  he  obtained  from  the 
corporation  of  Colchester,  a  ninety-nine  years  lease  of 
Kingsvvood  Heath,  at  a  yearly  rent  of  120/.  with  a  fine  of 
£00/.  This  transaction  seems  to  evince  some  deuree  of 
wealth  ;  though  the  assignment  of  his  lease,  not  long  after, 
to  Walter  Bernard,  equally  proves,  that  he  could  not  easily 
hold  what  he  had  obtained.  Kingswood  Heath  is  now 
worth  300/.  a  year.  , 

The  success  of  Crusoe  induced  De  Foe  to  publish,  iu 
1720,  "  The  Life  and  Piracies  of  captain  Singleton,'* 
though  not  with  similar  success.  In  1725  he  gave  "A 
New  Voyage  round  the  World,  by  a  course  never  sailed 
before."  In  the  life  of  Crusoe  we  are  gratified  by  con- 
tinually imagining  that  the  fiction  is  a  fact ;  in  the  "  Voyage 
round  the  World"  we  are  pleased,  by  constantly  perceiving 
that  the  fact  is  a  fiction,  which,  by  uncommon  skill,  is 
made  more  interesting  than  a  genuine  vo>\nge.  In  1720 
he  published  the  "  History  of  Duncan  Campbell,"  who 
was  born  deaf  and  dumb,  but  who  himself  taught  the  deaf 
and  dumb  to  understand.  Tiie  author  has  here  contrived 
that  the  merriest  passages  shall  end  with  some  edifyine 
moral.  The  "  Fortunes  and  Misfortunes  of  Moll  Flanders 
followed  in  172  1,   tl;e   morality  of  which  we   cannot  com- 


DEFOE.  403 

mend.  The  same  year  he  published  a  work  of  a  similar 
ten^enc}',  the  '*  Life  of  colonel  Jaque,"  who  was  born  a 
gentleman,  but  bred  a  pick-pocket.  In  1724,  appeared 
the  "  Fortunate  Mistress,  or  the  Adventures  of  Roxana.'* 
The  world,  however,  has  not  been  made  much  wiser  or 
better  by  the  perusal  of  these  lives,  which  may  have  di- 
verted the  lower  orders,  but  arc  too  gross  for  improve- 
ment, and  exhibit  few  scenes  which  are  welcome  to  cul- 
tivated minds.  Of  a  very  different  quality  are  the  "Me- 
moirs of  a  Cavalier  during  the  Civil  Wars  in  England." 
This  is  a  romance  the  most  like  to  truth  that  ever  was 
written  ;  a  narrative  of  great  events,  drawn  with  such 
simplicity,  and  enlivened  with  such  reflections,  as  to  in- 
form the  ignorant,  and  entertain  the  wise.  It  was  a  fa- 
vourite book  of  the  great  earl  of  Chatham,  who,  before  he 
discovered  it  to  be  a  fiction,  used  to  speak  of  it  as  the  best 
account  of  the  Civil  Wars  extant. 

The  moral  writings  of  De  Foe  must  at  last  give  him  a 
superiority  over  the  crowd  of  his  contemporaries.  The 
approbation  which  has  been  long  given  to  his  "  Family 
Instructor,"  and  "  Religions  Courtship,"  seems  to  contain 
the  favourable  decision, of  his  countrymen.  But  there  are 
still  other  performances  of  this  nature,  of  not  inferior 
merit.  In  1722  he  published  "  A  Journal  of  the  Plague 
in  1GC5."  The  author's  artifice  consists  in  fixino-  the 
reader's  attention  by  the  deep  distress  of  fellow-men  ;  and, 
by  recalling  his  recollection  to  striking  examples  of  mor- 
tality, he  endeavours  to  inculcate  the  necessity  of  refor- 
mation. This,  however,  like  his  "  Memoirs  of  a  Cavalier,'* 
is  a  pure  fiction,  and  for  a  long  time  imposed  on  the  ce- 
lebrated Dr.  Mead,  who  thought  it  genuine.  In  1724  he 
published  "  The  great  Law  of  Subordination,"  an  admi- 
rable commentary  on  the  unsufferable  behaviour  of  ser- 
vants. He  gave  the  "  Political  History  of  the  Devil,"  ia 
1 726  ;  a  perforn)anre  in  which  he  engages  reasoning  and  wit, 
persuasion  and  ridicule,  on  the  side  of  religion,  with  won- 
derful efficacy,  lie  wrote  "A  System  of  Magic,''  in  1726, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  a  supplement  to  tlie  "  History 
of  the  Devil."  His  views  and  execution  are  exactly  the 
same.  In  1727  he  published  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Use 
and  Abuse  of  the  Marriage -bed,"  an  excellent  book,  with 
an  improper  title-page. 

He  published  his  "  Tour  through  England"  in  1724  and 
1725  J  and  throu.2;h  Scotland  in  1737.     He  was  not  one  of 

D  D  2 


404  DEFOE. 

those  travellers  who  seldom  quit  the  banks  of  the  Thames. 
He  had  made  extensive  excursions,  with  observant  eyes  and 
a  vigorous  iniellect.  The  great  art  of  these  volumes  consists 
in  the  frequent  mention  of  such  men  and  things  as  are  al- 
ways welcome  to  the  reader's  mind.  In  1727  he  published, 
"  The  Complete  English  Tradesman,"  directing  him  in 
the  several  parts  of  trade.  A  second  volume  followed,  ad- 
dressed to  the  more  experienced  and  opulent  traders.  In 
these  treatises  are  many  directions  of  business,  and  many 
lessons  of  prudence  ;  and,  with  the  same  salutary  views, 
he  published  in  1728,  "A  Plan  of  the  English  Com- 
merce." 

De  Foe  died  in  April  1731,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Giles's 
Cripplegate.  He  left  a  widow,  who  did  not  long  survive 
him,  and  six  sons  and  daughters.  His  son  Daniel  is  said 
to  have  emigrated  to  Carolina,  but  had  a  daughter,  Mary, 
who  about  1745,  boarded  in  a  private  family  at  Chelms- 
ford, in  Essex.  She  was  married  about  1749,  to  Mr.  John 
Thorne,  a  shop-keeper  at  Braintree,  in  the  same  county. 
She  died  a  widow,  about  177  5,  leaving  a  son  (since  dead) 
and  two  daughters.  She  was  a  zealous  dissenter,  and  seemed 
to  inherit  her  grandfather's  sarcastic  spirit.  A  sister  of 
her's,  the  wife  of  Mr.  Standerwick,  haberdasher  and  mil- 
liner, in  Cornhill,  died  in  1787,  a  widow,  at  Stoke  New- 
ington,  where  her  grandfather,  as  already  mentioned,  had 
so  long  lived,  and  where,  it  may  now  be  added,  he  paid  in 
April  172  1,  10/.  to  be  excused  from  serving  parish-offices. 
His  daughter  Sophia,  married  Henry  Baker,  the  natural 
philosopher,  who  died  in  1774*. 

De  Foe  probably  died  insolvent ;  for  letters  of  admi- 
nistration were  granted  to  Mary  Brooke,  widow,  a  cre- 
ditrix,  in  Septeii;ber  17153,  after  sumnioning  in  official 
form  the  next  of  kin  to  appear.  John  Dunton,  who  per- 
sonally knew  our  author,  describes  him  in  1705,  as  a  man 
of  good  parts  and  clear  sense  ;  of  a  conversation  ingenious 
and  brisk  ;  of  a  spirit  enterprising  and  bold,  but  of  little 
prudence  ;   with  good  nature  and  real  honesty. 

De  Foe  certainly  possessed  very  uncommon  merit,  both 
as  a  man  and  as  a  writir,  and  yet  lew  men  have  received 
more  injurious  treatment  from  their  contemporaries.      He 

*  Of  some  of  his  desccndanls  less  in  the  Gent.  Mag.  1787,  is  an  account 

favourable  acc<)Hiiis   have   bii  ii    pub-  of    annthfr    giaiidsnn,     living    'ii    the 

lished.     In  1771,  John  .Joseph  De  Foe,  menial  siriiatiun  of  cook,  on   board  a 

said  lo  be  his  gramlsnn,  was  cxeciiti^d  at  sloop  of  war. 
Tyburn  lor  a   highway  robbery ;  and 


DEFOE.  405 

has  repeatedly  been  represented  as  an  unprincipled  writer, 
who  iiad  no  view  but  to  his  own  advantuge,  and  w.io  \vuuld 
write  for  any   party    by   wliicli   he  w  is  employed  ;  c  larges 
which  appear  to  he  ti/tally  dcstiuiteof  t'ouiidatioii.     H;^'  was 
not  rich  ;  and  he  naiurally  and  reasonably  endeavoured  to 
make   some  pecuniary  advantage  ot   his  writings;  but  (le 
seems  always   to   ha\e   wriittu   in  conlormiiy  to  his   own 
principles  ;  and,  thongn  much   abuse  has  been  thrown  out 
against  him,   no  evulv .  ce  to  the  contrary  has  ever  neen 
produced.      Hi-,  prose  w  jrks  are  much   more  valuable  than 
his  poetical  performances.     As  a   political  writer  iie   liad 
great  mmt ;   his  sentiments  appear  to  have  beei>  generally 
just,  and  ne  expressed  lumsed  with  force  and  perspicuity. 
His  pieces  on  ti.e  su  iject  of  tra  le  and  commerce  exhibit 
uncommon    penetration,    cind   very   various   and  extensive 
knowiedije.      But   his  fame  must  ever  rest  on  those  woiks 
which    were   entirely   the   offspring   ot    rneniion,    and   of 
these,  his  "  R^)binson  Crusoe"  rises  superior  to  every  tlnng 
of  iiie   kind.     Altnouijh   we   know  of  no  imitations  of  this 
which  deserve  notice,  some  critics  have  placed  De  Foe  at 
the  head  of  a  school,  and  have  instanced   Richardson   a3 
one   of  his   best  scholars.      Richariison,  says   Dr.   Kippis, 
seems  to  have  learned    from  him  tiiat  mode  of  delmeatinsr 
characters,   and    carrying  on    dialogues,  and   that  uunute 
discnminaiion  ot  the  circumstances  of  events,  in  which  De 
Foe  so  eminently  excelled.     If,   in    certain   respects,  tlie 
disciple  rose  above  his  master,  as   he  und   ubtedly  did,  in 
others   he  was  infeiior  to  him  ;   for  his   conversations  are 
sometimes  more  tedious  and  did\ise  :  and  ii.s  works,  though 
beautiful  in   then-  kind,  are  not   by  any    means  so  various. 
Both  of  these  writers  had  a  w>>iKleiful  ability  in  drawing 
pictures  of  human  nature  and  human  life.     A  caret iil   pe- 
rusal   of   the  *'  Family    Instructor,"  and   the   "  HelijjiouS 
Courtship,"   would   particularly  tend   to  shew  the  resem- 
blance  between    De   Foe  and    Richardson.       If,   however, 
Richardson  is  to  be  traced   to  De  Foe,   we  have  soajetimes 
thought  that   the  latter  was,  with  regard   to  simplicity  of 
style,  somewhat  indebtfd  to  Bunvan,  an  author  wiioin  he 
must  have  read  in   his  youth,  and    whose   religious  prin- 
ciples are  obvious  in  the  second  volume  of  his  "  Roi)inson 
Crusoe."     After  remaining  in    comparative  obscurity   for 
many  years,   De  Foe  ai  last  found  a  biograplier  in  George 
Chalmtrs,  esq.  who  has  done  amj)le  justice  to  his  memory, 
and  has  presented  the  literary  world  with  a  more  elegant, 


406  DEFOE. 

accurate,  and  satisfactory  account  of  his  personal  history 
and  writings,  than  could  have  been  expected  so  long  after 
his  decease.  It  is  unnecessary  to  add,  that  this,  and  every 
succeeding  account  of  De  Foe,  must  be  indebted  to  Mr. 
Chalmers's  researches.' 

DEIDIER  (Anthony),  a  voluminous  writer  on  almost 
every  branch  of  medicine,  w^as   the  son  of  a  surgeon   of 
Montpellier.     In    1691   he  was   made  M.  D.   and  in  1697, 
professor  of  chemistry.     He  was  also  honoured  with  the 
ribbon  of  the  order  of  St.  Michael,  and  was  acln^itted  one 
of  tlie  foreign  members  of  the  royal  society  of  London. 
In    1732,    being  appointed   physician   to  the   galleys,  he 
quitted  Montpellier,  and  went  to  Marseilles,  where  he  died 
on  the  3d   of  April,    1746.     Of  his   works,  the   following 
have  been  most  noticed  :   "  Experiences  sur  la  Bile,  et  les 
cadavres  des  pestiferes,  faites   par   M.  D. ;  accompagnees 
des  Lettres,   &c."    Zurich,    1772.     He   was  at  Marseilles 
while  the  plague  raged  there,  and  attributed  the  disease  to 
a  prevailing  aciJ.     He  injected  bile  taken   from  persons 
who  had  died  of  the  plague,  into   the  veins  of  some  dogs, 
which  were  almost  immediately  killed  by  the  venom  ;  an 
experiment  from  which  no  useful  result  could  be  expected 
to  follow.     He  tried  inunctions  with   mercury  in  the  dis- 
ease ;  from  which,  he  says,  no  benefit  nor  mischief  was  found 
to  accrue.    "  Chymie  raisonnee,  ou  Ton  tache  de  decouvrir 
la  nature  et  la  luaniere  d'agir  des  remedes  cbymiques   les 
plus  en  usage  en  medicine  et  en  chirurgie,"  Lyon,   1715, 
12mo.     These  experiments  were  also  fruitless  ;  they  shew, 
however,  an  active  and  inquisitive  turn   of  mind,  which, 
properly  directed,  might  have  been  productive  of  some 
profits.     He  published  three  volumes  of  consultations  and 
observations,  which  may  be  read  with  advantage,  the  dis- 
eases being  generally  correctly  described,  and  the  method 
of  treating  them  such  as  is  now  commonly  practised.     For 
the  titles  and  accounts  of  the  remainder  of  his  works,  see 
Haller's  Bib.  Med.= 

DE  LA  BARRE..    See  BARRE. 

DF.  LA  COUR  or  DELACOURT  (James),  an  Irish  po- 
etical writer,  was  the  second  son  of  Robert  De  la  Cour,  esq. 
of  the  county  of  Cork,  in  Ireland,  and  born  at  Killowen, 
near  Blarney,  in  that  county,  in  1709.      He  was  educated 

'  Life  as  above. — T3iog.  Brit. 

2  Diet.  Hist. — Rcts's  Cyclopaedia. 


D  E      L  A     C  O  U  R.  407 

at  the  university  of  Dublin,  where  to  his  classical  studies 
he  added  nn  uncomiuon  predilection  for  poetry,  and  be- 
fore lie  had  reached  his  twenty-tirst  year,  produced  a  poem 
entitled  "Abdard  to  Eloisa,"  in  imitation  of  Pope,  which 
was  thought  to  possess  a  considerable  portion  of  tlie  spirit 
and  harmony  of  that  master.  From  this  time  he  proceeded 
to  publish  shorter  poems  and  sonnets,  which  were  all  fa- 
vourably received  ;  and  in  1733  appeared  his  principal 
work,  "  The  Prospect  of  Poetry."  So  creditable  a  pub- 
lication, at>d  at  such  an  age,  gained  him  much  and  de- 
served applause  ;  and  in  this  list  of  admirers  he  had  to  count 
on  some  of  the  best  judges  in  both  countries*. 

Soon  afier  this  he  took  holy  orders,  but  iiad  little  zeal 
for  the  profession,  and  produced  his  sermons  as  matters  of 
ordinary  duty:  his  muse  was  the  mistress  which  engaged 
his  principal  attention  ;  and,  as  the  muses  generally  love 
*'  the  gay  and  busy  haunts  of  men,"  this  pursuit  was  of  no 
service  to  his  promotion  or  clerical  character.  He  unfor- 
tunately, too,  loved  his  bottle  as  well  as  his  muse;  and  by 
such  induloences  sunk  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
who  said  poetry  affected  his  head  ;  and  in  a  little  time  they 
gave  him  the  title  of  "  the  mad  parson,"  under  which  ge- 
neral character,  the  graver  kind  of  people  grew  cautious 
of  his  acquaintance,  whilst  the  young  ones  solicited  his 
company  to  enjoy  his  eccentricities.  In  time  he  fell  so 
much  into  this  last  seduction,  that  he  was  the  volunteer  of 
any  party  who  would  engage  him  for  the  night.  This  con- 
stant dissipation  at  last  enfeebled  his  understanding  ;  and 
the  charo;e  which  malice  and  io-norance  at  first  fastened  on 
him,  was  now  realized  ;  his  intellects  were  at  times  evi- 
dently deranged  ;  and  he  fancied  himself,  after  the  example 
of  Socrates,  to  be  nightly  visited  by  a  demon,  who  enabled 
him  to  prophesy  all  manner  of  future  events. 

In  the  career  of  this  unhappy  impression,  the  following 
circumstance  deserves  some  notice :  A  gentleman  one 
day  meeting  the  doctor  in  a  bookseller's  shop,  during  the 
siege  of  tlie  Havannah,  asked  him  whether  he  could  tell 
him  when  the  garrison  would  surrender  ?   "  ()  yes,"  saya 

*  Swift  was  r)Ot,  however,  among  this  number,  if  we  may  jiulge  from  the  fol- 
lowing epigiam  in  liis  works  : 
•'  On  one  Delacourt's  otniplimenting  Carthy,  a  schoolmaster,  on  his  poetry, 
"  Carlhy,  you  say,  writes  well — his  genius  true  j 
Yon    pawn  your  word  for  him — he'll  vouch  for  you. 
So  two  poor  knaves,   who  find  their  credit  fail, 
To  cheat  the  world,  become  each  other's  bail,'' 


408  D  E      L  A      C  O  U  R. 

Be  La  Cour,  very  confidently,  "  I'll  tell  you  the  precise 
day  ;  it  will  be  on  the  14ih  of  August  next."  *'  Do  you 
pledjie  yourself  for  that  day?"  "  So  much  so,"  replied 
the  doctor,  *'  that  I  will  stake  my  character  as  a  prophet 
on  it,  and  therefore  1  beg  you  will  take  a  memorandum  of 
it."  The  gentleman  immediately  noted  it  m  his  pocket- 
book  ;  and  it  so  happened,  that  on  that  very  day  we  had 
an  account  of  its  surrender  to  the  British  arms.  A  public 
event  thus  predicted  six  weeks  before  it  happened,  and 
falling  in  so  accurately  according  to  the  prediction,  of  course 
made  a  great  noise  in  a  little  place.  The  common  people 
wondered  at,  and  even  philosophers  could  not  resist  pausing 
on  the  coincidence  of  circumstances  :  but  the  doctor  was 
elated  beyond  measure.  He  now  claimed  the  diploma  of 
a  prophet,  and  expected  to  be  consulted  on  the  issue  of 
all  important  circunjstances. 

He  continued  thus  many  years,  prophesying  and  poeti- 
zing ;  and  though  in  the  first  he  made  many  mistakes,  in 
the  latter  he  in  a  great  measure  preserved  the  vis  poetica  ; 
particularly  in  his  satires  on  individuals,  which  sometimes 
exposed  and  restrained  those  too  cunning  for  the  law,  and 
too  callous  for  the  pulpit.  He  had  originally  a  little  estate 
of  about  80/.  per  year  left  him  by  his  father,  which,  with 
the  hospitality  of  his  friends,  enabled  him  to  live  inde- 
pendent. Towards  the  latter  end  of  his  life,  he  sold  this 
to  his  brother-in-law,  for  a  certain  sum  yearly,  and  his 
board  and  lodging  ;  but  at  the  same  time  restrained  him- 
self from  staying  out  after  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  under 
the  penalty  of  one  shilling.  Inconsequence  of  this,  the 
doctor's  balance  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  very  incon^ 
siderable. 

He  died  about  1781,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy* 
two,  leaving  behind  him  many  monuments  of  poetical 
talents,  and  adding  another  testimony  to  the  truth  of  Dr. 
Johnson's  observation,  "  that  nothing  will  supply  the  want 
of  prudence  ;  and  that  negligence  and  irregularity  long 
continued,  will  make  knowledge  useless,  wit  ridiculous,  and 
genius  contemptible."* 

DELAMKT  (Adrian  Augustin  de  Bussi),  a  learned 
doctor  of  the  house  and  society  of  the  Sorbonne,  seigneur 
de  Sevais  in  Maine,  and  prior  of  St.  Martin  de  Brive-la- 
Gaillarde,  was  born  in  162  1,  of  an  ancient  and  illustrious 

»  Europ.  Mag.  1797.— Nichgls's  Poems,  vol.  VIL  p.  267,  and  vol.  VIII.  p.  31«, 


D  E  L  A  M  E  T.  409 

family  of  Picardy.  He  was  clistin<.',uislied  for  learning  and 
integrity  ;  acrompanied  cardinal  de  Reiz,  to  wiiom  he  was 
related,  in  his  prosperity  and  his  misfortunes,  and  settled 
atterwards  at  the  Sorbjnne,  where  he  earnestly  devoted 
himself  to  deciding  cases  of  conscience  with  his  friend  M. 
de  ISainte  Beuve.  He  was  a  zealous  director  to  several 
religious  houNes  ;  was  appointed  to  attend  condemned  cri- 
minals, ami  maiiitained  and  educated  a  great  number  of 
poor  scholars.  He  died  July  10,  1691,  at  the  Sorbonne, 
aged  70.  Tiie  greatest  part  of  his  decisions,  and  those  of 
M.  Fromageau,  were  collected  1732,  2  vols.  fol. ' 

DELANV  (Patkick),  a  clergyman  of  Ireland,  of  con- 
siderable celebrity  in  his  day,  was  born  in  that  kingdom 
about  1686.  His  father  lived  as  a  servant  in  the  family  of 
sir  John  Henuel,  an  Irish  judoe,  and  afterwards  rented  a 
small  farm,  in  which  situation  he  is  >upposed  to  have  con- 
tinued to  his  decease  ;  for,  when  our  author  came  to  he  in 
prosperous  circumstances,  he  was  adv  sed  by  Dr.  Sv\ift 
not  to  take  his  parents  out  of  the  line  of  1  fe  they  were 
fixed  in,  but  to  render  them  comtortable  m  it.  At  what 
place,  an>i  under  whom,  young  Delany  received  his  gram- 
matical education,  we  are  not  able  to  ascertain;  but  at  a 
proper  age  he  became  a  sizer  in  Trinity  college,  Dublin  ; 
went  thiongli  Ins  academical  course;  took  the  customary 
degrees;  and  was  chosen,  tiist  a  junior,  and  afterwards  a 
senior  fellow  of  the  gollesj^e.  During  this  time  he  formed 
an  intimacy  with  Dr.  Switt;  and  it  appears  from  several 
circumstances,  that  he  was  one  of  the  dean  of  St.  Patrick's 
chief  favourites.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  conjecture, 
that,  besides  his  considerable  merit,  it  might  be  some  ge- 
neral recommendation  to  him,  that  he  readily  entered  into 
the  dean's  playful  disposition.  He  joined  with  Swift  and 
Dr.  Sheridan  in  writing  or  answering  riddles,  and  in  com- 
posing other  slight  copies  of  verses,  the  only  design  of 
which  was  to  pass  away  the  hours  in  a  pleasant  manner; 
^nd  several  of  Mr.  Deiany's  exertions  on  these  occasions 
may  be  seen  in  Swift's  works.  These  temporary  amuse- 
ments did  not,  however,  interfere  with  our  author's  more 
serious  concerns.  He  applied  vigorously  to  his  studies, 
distinguishevl  himself  as  a  popular  preacher,  and  was  so 
celebrated  as  a  tutor,  that  bv  t.ie  benefit  of  his  pupils,  and 
his  senior  fellowship,  with  all  its  perquisites,  he  received 

1  MpreiL— Diet.  Hist.— L'Avocat's  Diet. 


410  D  E  L  A  N  Y. 

every  year  between  nine  hundred  and  a  thousand   pounds. 
In  17i.'4  an  affair  happened  in  the  college  of  Dublin,  with 
regard  lo  which  Dr.  13e!any  is  represented  as  having  been 
gudty  of  an  improper  interference.     Two  under-graduates 
having  behaved  very  insolently  to  the   provost,  and  after- 
wards refusing  to  make  a  submission   for   their   fault,  were 
both  of  them*expelled.     On  this  occasion  Dr.  Delany  took 
the  part  of  the  young  men,  and  (as  it  is  said)   went  so  far 
as  to  abuse  the  provost  to  his  face,   in  a  sermon  at  the  col- 
lege chapel.      W  liatever   may  have  been  his  motives,  the 
result  of  the   matter  was,  -that  the  doctor  was  obliged  to 
give  satisfaction  to  the  provost,  by  an  acknowledgement  of 
the  offence.     Our  author's   conduct  in    this  affair,  which 
had  been  displeasing  to  the  lord    primate  Boulter,  might 
probably  contribute  to  invigorate  the  opposition  which  the 
archbishop  made  to  him  on  a  particular  occasion.     In  1725 
he  was  presented  by  the  chapter  of  Christ-church,  to  the 
parish  of  St,  John's,  in   the  city  of  Dublin,  but  without  a 
royal  dispensation  he  could   not   keep  bis   fellowship  with 
his   new   living.     Archbishop   Boulter,    therefore,  applied 
to  the  duke  of  Newcastle,  to  prevent  the  dispensation  from 
being  granted.     In  1727  Dr.  Delany  was  presented  by  the 
university  of  Dublin  to  a  small  northern  living,    of  some- 
what better  than   one  hundred  pounds  a   year;  and   about 
the  same  time,  lord  Carteret  promoted  him  to  the  chan- 
cellorship of  Christ-church,    which  was    of    equal  value. 
Afterwards,    1730,   his  excellency  gave  him   a  prebend  in 
St.  Patrick's  caihedral,   the  produce  of  which   did   not  ex- 
ceed either  of  the  other  preferments.     In  1729  Dr.  Delany 
began  a   periodical  paper,   called  *'  The  Tribune,"  which 
was  continued  through  about  twenty  numbers.     Soon  after, 
our  author  engaged  in  a  more  serious  and  important  work, 
of  a  theological  nature,  the  intention  of  publishing  which 
brought  him  to  London  in   1731  ;  it  had  for  title,    "  Re- 
velation examined  with  candour,"  the  first  volume  whereof 
was  published  in  1732.     This  year   appears   to   have  been 
of  importance   to  our  author  in  a  domestic  as  well  as  in  a 
literary  view  :   for  on  the  17th  of  July  he  married  in  Eng- 
land,  Mrs.   Margaret  Tenison,   a   widow   lady  of  Ireland, 
with  a  large  fortune.     On  his  return  to  Dublin,  he  mani- 
fested   his   regard  to   the  imiversity  in  which   he  was  edu- 
cated,   and    of  which    he   had   long   been   a   distinguished 
men, her,  by  giving  twenty  pounds  a  year  to  be  distributed 
among  the  students.     In  1734  appeared  the  second  volume 


D  E  L  A  N  Y,  411 

of  **  Revelation  examined  with  candour,"  and  so  favonr- 
able  a  reception  did  the  whole  work  meet  with,  that  a  tliird 
edition   was  called  for  in  1735.     In  1738  Dr.  Delany  pub- 
lished a  30th   of  January  sermon,  which  he  had  preached 
at  Dublin  before  the  lord-lieutenant,  William  duke  of  De- 
vpnshire.     It  was  afterwards  inserted  in  the  doctor's  volume 
upon  social  duties.     In  the  same  year  appeared  one  of  the 
most   curious   of   Dr.   Delany's  productions,  which   was  a 
pamphlet  entitled,  "  Reflections  upon  Polygamy,  and  the 
encouragement  given  to  that  practice  in  the   scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament."     This  subject,  however,    lias   since 
been  more  ably  handled  by  the  late  ingenious   Mr.  Bad- 
cock,   in  the  two  fine  articles   of  the   Monthly  Review  re- 
lative to  Madan's  "  Thelyphthora."     Dr.  Delany  was  led 
by  his  subject  to  consider  in  a  particular  manner  the  case 
of  David  ;  and  it  is  probable,  that  he  was  hence  induced 
to  engage  in   examining  whatever  farther  related  to  that 
great  Jewish  monarch.     The  result  of  his  inquiries  he  pub- 
lished  in  "  An  historical  account  of  the  life  and  reign    of 
David  king  of  Israel."     The  first  volume  of  this  work  ap- 
peared in  1740,  the  second  in  1742,  and  the  third   in  the 
same   year.      It  would    be   denying  Dr.  Delany   his  just 
praise,   were  we  not   to   say,  that   it  is  an    ingenious   and 
a  learned  performance.     It  is  written  with  spirit;   there  are 
some   curious  and  valuable  criticisms  in   it,  and  maiiy  of 
the  remarks  in   answer  to   Bayle  are  well  founded  ;   but  it 
has  not  been  thought,  on  the  whole,  a  very  judicious  pro- 
duction.    It  is  not  necessary  to  the  honour  of  the  sacred 
writings,  or  to  the  cause  of  revelation,  to  defend,  or  to  pal- 
liate the  conduct  of  David,  in  whatsoever  respects  he  acted 
wrong.     It  is  peculiar  to  tlxj  Scriptures,  in  the  biographi- 
cal parts,  to  exhibit  warnings  as  well  as  examples. 

Dr.  Delany,  on  the  9th  of  June  1743,  married  a  second 
time.  The  laily  with  whom  he  formed  this  connexio'i  was 
Mrs.  Pendarves,  the  relict  of  Alexander  Penilarves,  esq  a. 
very  ingenious  and  excellent  woman  ;  of  whom  some  ac- 
count will  be  given  in  the  next  article.  The  doctor  had 
lost  his  first  wife  December  6,  1741.  March  13,  1744, 
our  author  preached  a  sermon  before  the  society  tor  pro- 
inotiug  protestant  working  schools  in  Ireland.  In  May 
1744,  he  was  raised  to  the  highest  preferment  whicli  he 
ever  attained,  the  deanrv  of  Down,  in  the  room  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Fletcher,  appointed  to  be  bishop  of  Dromore.  la 
the  same  year,  previously  to  this  promotion,  our  author 


41fJ  D  E  L  A  N  Y. 

published  a  \'olume  of  sermons  npon  social  duties,  fifteen 
ill  number,  to  which  in  a  second  etiition,  1747,  were  added 
five  more,  on  the  opposite  vices.  Tliis  is  the  most  usetul 
of  Dr.  Deiany's  pertormances  ;  the  objects  to  whicli  it  re- 
lates being  of  very  important  and  general  concern.  Dr. 
Delany's  next  publication  was  not  till  1748,  and  that  was 
only  a  sixpenny  pamphlet.  It  was  entitled  "  An  Essay 
towards  evidencing  the  divine  original  o(  Tythes,"  and  had 
at  first  been  drawn  up,  and  prol)ably  preached  as  a  ser- 
mon. The  text,  rather  a  singular  ont',  was  the  tenth  com- 
Hiandment,  which  forbids  us  to  covet  any  thing  that  is  our 
neighbour's  ;  and  it  reijuired  some  ingenuity  to  deduce 
the  divine  oiiginal  of  tithes  from  that  particular  prohibi- 
tion. After  an  interval  of  six  years,  Dr.  Delany  ugaiii 
appeared  in  the  world  as  an  autnor,  in  answer  to  the  earl 
of  Orrery's  "  Remarks  on  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Dr. 
Swift."  Man}'  of  Swift's  zealous  admirers  were  not  a  little 
displeased  with  the  re|iies(ntaiions  which  the  noble  lord 
had  given  of  him  in  various  respects.  Of  this  number  was 
Dr.  Delany,  who  determined  therefore  to  do  justice  to  the 
memory  ot  his  old  friend  ;  for  which  few  were  better  qua- 
lified, having  been  in  the  habits  of  intimacy  with  the  ;iean 
of  St.  Patrick's,  from  his  (irst  coming  over  to  Ireland,  and 
long  before  lord  Orrery  could  have  known  any  thing  con- 
cerning him.  On  the  whole,  it  was  thought  tisat  this  pro- 
duction of  the  doctor's  eni>blt^d  tlu-  public  to  form  a  far 
more  clear  estimation  of  tlie  real  character  of  the  dean  of 
St.  Patrick's,  than  any  account  of  him  which  had  hitherto 
been  given  to  the  world  ;  yet  perhaps  the  fairest  estimate 
must  be  made  by  a  comparison  of  both.  However  zea- 
lous Dr.  Delany  niioht  be  fur  the  h  nour  of  his  friend,  he 
did  not  satisFy  Deane  Swift,  esq.  who,  in  his  Essay  upon 
the  life,  writings,  and  character  of  his  relation,  treated  our 
author  with  extreme  ill  manners  and  gross  abuse  ;  to 
which  he  thought  proper  to  give  an  answer,  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Swift,  published  in  1755.  In  this  letter  the  doctor 
justified  himself;  and  he  did  it  with  so  much  temper  and 
ingenuity,  so  much  candour,  and  yet  with  so  much  sj)irit, 
that  the  polite  gentleman,  and  the  wortiiy  divine,  were 
apparent  in  every  page  of  his  little  pamphlet.  The  year 
1754  also  produced  another  volume  of  sermons  ;  the  larger 
part  of  them  are  practical,  and  these  are  entitled  to  great 
commendation,  particularly  two  discourses  on  the  lolly, 
iniquity,  and  absurdity  of  dueUing. 


D  E  L  A  N  Y.  413 

During  this  part  of  Dr.  Delany's  life,  he  was  involved 
in  a  law-suit  of  great  consequence,  and   which,    from    its 
comaienceuient  to  its  final  termination,  lasted  more  than 
nine  years.      It  related  to   the  personal  estate  of  his  first 
lady  ;  and  although  a  shade  was  cast  on  his  character  by 
the  decision   of  tlie  Irish  court  of  chancery,  his   conduct 
was  completely  vindicated  by  that  decree  being  reversed 
in   the  house   of  lords  in   England.     But  he   was  not  so 
deeply  engaged  in  the   prosecution  of  his  law-suit  as  en- 
tirely to  forget  his   disposition  to  be  often   appearing  in 
the  world  as  an  author.     In  17  57   he   began   a  periodical 
paper   called    "  The  Humanist,"    which    was    carried    on 
through    15    numbers,    and   then   dro[)pcd.     In    1761    Dr. 
Delany  published  a  tract,   entitled  "  An  humble  apology 
for  Christian  Orthodoxy,"  and  several  sermons.     It  was  in 
1763,  after  an   interval  of  nearly  thirty   years  from  the 
publication   of  his   former  volumes,   that  he    gave   to  the 
world  the  third  and  last  volume  of  his   "  Revelation  exa- 
mined with  candour."      In  the  preface  the  doctor  has  in- 
dulged himself  in  some  peevish  remarks  upon  Reviewers  of 
works  of  liteiature  ;  but  from  complaints  of  this  kind  few 
writers  have  ever  derived   any  material  advantage.     With 
regard  to  the  volume  itself,  it  has  been  tiiought  to  exhibit 
more  numerous  instances  of  the  prevalence  of  imagination 
over  judgment  than  had  occurred  in  the  former  part  ol  the 
undertaking.      In    1766    Dr.  Delany   published   a   sermon 
against  transubstantiation  ;    which   was  succeeded   in  the 
same  year  by   his   last  publication,   which   was   a  volume 
containing    18   discourses.     Dr.  Delany  departed   this   life 
at  Bath,  in  May  1763,  in  the  S3d  year  of  his  age.    Though 
in  general  he  was  an  inhabitant  of  Ireland,  it  appears  Irom 
several   circumstances,  and   especially  from  his   writings, 
almost  all  of  which  were  published  in    London,  that   iie 
frequently  came  over  to  England,   and  occasionally  resided 
there  for  a  considerable  time.     Of  his  literary  character  an 
est. mate  may  be  formed  from  what  has  been  already  said. 
"With  regard  to  two  of  his  principal   works,  tJie   "  iLn-ela- 
tion  examined  with  candour,"  and  the  "  Life   of  David," 
they  contain  so  many  fanciful  and  doubtful  position^,   that 
all  the  ability  and  learning  displayed  in  them  will  scarv^ely 
suffice  to   hand   them   down,   with   an\  eminent  dooree  of 
reputation,   to  future  ages.      It  is  on  bis  sermons,  aiul  par- 
ticularly on  those  which  relate  to  social   duties,  that  will 
princiiially  depend    the    perpetuity  of    his  fame.      With 


414  D  E  L  A  N  Y. 

respect  to  his  personal  character,  he  appears  to  have  been  a 
gentleman  of  unquestionable  piety  and  goodness,  and  of 
an  uncommon  warmth  of  heart.  This  warmth  of  heart 
was,  however,  accompanied  with  some  inequality,  im- 
petuosity, and  in  itabihty  of  temper.  Few  excelled  him  in 
charity,  generosity,  and  hospitality.  His  income,  which 
for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  was  3000^.  per  annum, 
sunk  under  the  exercise  of  these  virtues,  and  he  left  little 
behind  him  besides  books,  plate,  and  furniture.  Of  a 
literary  diligence,  protracted  to  above  fourscore  years, 
Dr.  Delany  has  afforded  a  striking  example  ;  though  it 
may  possibly  be  thought,  that  if,  when  his  body  and  mind 
grew  enfeebled,  he  had  remembered  the  solve  senescentem 
equian,  it  would  have  been  of  no  disadvantage  to  his  repu- 
tation. 

We  shall  conclude  this  article  with  an  anecdote  that  has 
been  related,  to  shew  the  characteristic  absence  of  our 
author's  mind.  In  the  reign  of  king  George  TI.  being 
desirous  of  the  honour  of  preaching  before  his  majesty,  he 
obtained,  from  the  lord  chamberlain,  or  the  dean  of  the 
chapel,  the  favour  of  being  appointed  to  that  office  on  the 
fifth  Sunday  of  some  month,  being  an  extra-day,  not  sup- 
plied, ex  officio,  by  the  chaplains.  As  he  was  not  informed 
of  the  etiquette,  he  entered  the  royal  chapel  after  the 
prayers  began,  and,  not  knowing  whither  to  go,  crowded 
into  the  desk  by  the  reader.  The  vesturer  soon  after  was 
at  a  loss  for  the  preacher,  till,  seeing  a  clergyman  kneeling 
by  the  reader,  he  concluded  him  to  be  the  man.  Accord- 
ingly, he  went  to  him,  and  pulled  him  by  the  sleeve.  But 
Dr.  Delany,  chagrined  at  being  interrupted  in  his  devo- 
tions, resisted  and  kicked  the  intruder,  who  in  vain  begged 
him  to  come  out,  and  said,  "  There  was  no  text."  l^he 
doctor  replied,  that  he  had  a  text ;  nor  could  he  compre- 
hend the  meaning,  till  the  reader  acquainted  him,  that  he 
must  go  into  the  vestry,  and  write  down  the  text  (as  usual) 
for  the  closets.  When  he  came  into  the  vestry,  his  hand 
shook  so  much  that  he  could  not  write.  Mrs.  Delany, 
therefore,  was  sent  for  ;  but  no  paper  was  at  hand.  At 
last,  on  the  cover  of  a  letter,  the  text  was  transcribed  by 
Mrs.  Delany,  and  so  carried  up  to  the  king  and  royal 
family. ' 

»  Biog.  Rrit. — Swift's  Works,  passim;  see  Index. — Some  letters  of  his  occur 
in  Richaidsou's  Oonebpoiulence,  vol.  IV.  aud  in  Gent.  Mag.  vol.  LXXIV. 


D  E  L  A  N  Y.  415 

DEI.ANY  (Mary),  the  second  wife  of  the  preceding, 
and  a  lady  of  distinguished  ingenuity  and  merit,  was  bom 
at  a  small  country  house  of  her  i'atlier's  at  Coulton  in 
Wiltshire,  May,  14,  1700.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Ber- 
nard Granville,  esq.  afterward  lord  Lansdowne,  a  noble- 
man whose  abilities  and  virtues,  whose  characier  as  a  poet, 
whose  friendship  with  Pope,  Swift,  and  other  eminent 
writers  of  the  time,  and  whose  general  patronage  of  men 
of  genius  and  literature,  have  often  been  recorded  in  bio- 
graphical productions.  As  the  child  of  such  a  family,  she 
could  not  tail  of  i-eceiviiiG:  the  best  education.  It  was  at 
Loiig-Leat,  the  seat  of  the  Weymouth  family,  which  was 
occupied  by  lord  Lansdowne  during  the  minority  of  the 
heir  of  that  family,  that  Miss  Granville  first  saw  Alexander 
Pendarves,  esq.  a  gentleman  of  large  property  at  lloscrovv 
in  Cornwall,  and  who  immediately  paid  his  addresses  to 
her;  which  were  so  strenuously  supported  by  her  uncle, 
whom  she  had  not  the  courage  to  deny,  that  she  gave  a 
reluctant  consent  to  the  match  ;  and  accordingly  it  took 
place  in  the  compass  of  two  or  three  -weeks,  she  being 
then  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  her  age.  From  a  great 
disparity  of  years,  and  other  causes,  she  was  very  unhappy 
durinoj  the  time  which  this  coimexion  lasted,  but  endea- 
voured  to  make  the  best  of  her  situation.  The  retireiuent 
to  which  she  was  confined  was  wisely  employed  in  the 
farther  cultivation  of  a  naturally  vigorous  understanding: 
and  the  good  use  she  made  of  her  leisure  hours,  was  emi- 
nently evinced  in  the  charms  of  her  conversation,  and  in 
her  letters  to  her  friends.  That  quick  feeling  of  the  ele- 
gant and  beautiful  which  constitutes  taste,  she  possessed 
in  an  eminent  degree,  and  was  therefore  peculiarly  fitted 
for  succeeding  in  the  fine  arts.  At  the  period  we  are 
speaking  of,  she  made  a  great  proficiency  in  music,  but 
painting,  which  afterwards  she  most  loved,  and  in  which 
she  principally  excelled,  had  not  yet  engaged  her  practical 
attention.  In  1724  Mrs.  Pendarves  became  a  widow  ; 
upon  which  occasion  she  quitted  Cornwall,  and  fixed  her 
principal  residence  in  London.  For  several  years,  between 
1730  and  1736,  she  maintained  a  correspondence  with 
Dr.  Swift.  In  1743,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  former  article, 
Mrs.  Pendarves  was  married  to  Dr.  Delany,  with  whom  it 
appears  that  she  had  long  been  acquainted  ;  and  for  whom 
she  had  many  years  entertained  a  ver}^  high  esteem.  She 
had  been  a  widow  nineteen  years   when   this  connexion. 


416  D  E  L  A  N  Y. 

which  was  a  very  happy  one,  took  place,  and  her  husband 
is  said  to  have  regarded  her  almost  to  adoration,  Upon 
his  decease  in  May  1768,  she  intended  to  fix  herself  at 
Bath,  and  was  in  quest  of  a  house  for  that  purpose.  But 
the  duchess  dowager  of  Portland,  hearing  of  her  design, 
went  down  to  the  place;  and,  having  in  her  early  years 
formed  an  intimacy  with  Mrs.  Delany,  wished  to  have  near 
her  a  lady  from  whom  she  had  necessarily,  for  several 
years,  been  much  separated,  and  whose  heart  and  talents 
she  knew  would  in  the  highest  degree  add  to  the  happi- 
ness of  her  own  life.  Her  <>race  succeeded  in  her  solicita- 
tions,  and  Mrs.  Delany  now  passed  her  time  between  Lon- 
don and  Bulstrode.  On  the  death  of  the  duchess-dowageif 
of  Portland,  his  present  majesty,  who  had  frequently  seen 
and  honoured  Mrs.  Delany  with  his  notice  at  Bulstrode, 
assigned  her  for  her  summer  residence  the  use  of  a  house 
completely  furnished,  in  St.  Alban's-street,  Windsor,  ad- 
joining to  the  entrance  of  the  castle  :  and,  that  the  having 
two  houses  on  her  hands  might  not  produce  any  inconve- 
nience with  regard  to  the  expence  of  her  living,  his 
majesty,  as  a  farther  mark  of  his  royal  favour,  conferred 
on  her  a  pension  of  three  hundred  pounds  a  year.  On  the 
15th  of  i\pril,  1788,  after  a  short  indisposition,  she  de- 
parted this  life,  at  her  house  in  St.  James's-place,  having 
nearly  completed  the  88th  year  of  her  age.  The  circum- 
stance that  has  principally  entitled  Mrs.  Delany  to  a  place 
in  this  work  is  her  skill  in  painting,  and  in  other  ingenious 
arts,  one  of  which  was  entirely  her  ovs^n.  With  respect  to 
painting,  she  was  late  in  her  application  to  it.  She  did 
not  learn  to  draw  till  she  was  more  than  thirty  years  of 
age,  when  she  put  herself  under  the  instruction  of  Goupy, 
a  fashionable  master  of  that  time,  and  much  employed  by 
Frederic  prince  of  Wales.  To  oil-painting  she  did  not 
take  till  she  was  past  forty.  So  strong  was  her  passion  for 
this  art,  that  she  has  frequently  been  known  to  employ  her- 
self in  it,  day  after  day,  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
till  dinner  time,  allowing  only  a  short  interval  for  break- 
fast. She  was  principally  a  copyist ;  but  a  very  fine  one. 
The  only  considerable  original  work  of  hers  in  oil  was  the 
Raising  of  Lazarus,  in  the  possession  of  her  friend  lady 
Bute.  The  number  of  pictures  painted  by  her,  consider- 
ing how  late  it  was  in  Hfe  before  she  applied  to  the  art, 
was  very  great.  Her  own  house  was  full  of  them  ;  and 
others  are  among  the  chief  ornaments  of  Calswich,  Wels- 


D  E  L  A  N  Y.  417 

born,  and  Ham,  the  respective  residences  of  her  nephews, 
Mr.  Granville  and  Mr.  Dewes,  and  of  her  niece  Mrs.  Port. 
Mrs.  Delany,  among  her  other  accomplishments,  excelled 
in  emhroidery  and  shell-work  ;  and,   in   the  course  of  her 
life,  produced  many  elegant  specimens  of  her  skill  in  these 
respects.   But,  what  is  more  remarkable,  at  the  age  of  74  she 
invented  a  new  and  beautiful  mode  of  exercising  her  inge- 
nuity.    This    was   by  the  construction  of  a   Flora,   of  a 
most  singular  kind,   formed  by  applying  coloured  papers 
together,  and  which  might,   not  improperly,   be  called  a 
species  of  mosaic  work.      Being  perfectly  mistress  of  her 
scissars,  the  plant  or  flower  which  she  purposed  to  imitate 
she  cut   out;   that  is,  she  cut  out   its  various   leaves  and 
parts  in  such  coloured  Chinese  paper  as  suited  her  subject; 
and,  when  she  could  not  meet  with  a  colour  to  correspond 
with   the   one  she   wanted,    she   dyed    her  own   paper   to 
answer  her  wishes.    She  used  a  black  ground,  as  best  calcu- 
lated to  throw  out  her  flower  ;  and  not  the  least  astonish- 
ing part  of  her  art  was,  that  though  she  never  employed 
her  pencil  to  trace  out  the  form   or  shape  of  her  plant,  yet 
when  she  had  aj:)plied  all  the  pieces  which  composed  it, 
it  hung  so  loosely  and  gracefully,  that  every  one  was  per- 
suaded that  it  must  previously  have  been  drawn  out,   and 
repeatedly  corrected  by  a  most  judicious  hand,  before  it 
could  have  attained  the  ease  and  air  of  tiuth  which,  with- 
out any  impeachment  of  the  honour  of  this  accomplished 
lady,   might  justly  be   called   a  forgery  of  nature's  works. 
The  effect  was  superior  to   what  painting  could  have  pro- 
duced ;  and  so  imposing  was  her  art,  that  she  would  some- 
times put  a  real  leaf  of  a  plant  by  the  side  of  one  of  het 
own  creation,  which  the  eye  could  not  detect,  even  when 
she  herself  pointed  it  out.      Mrs.  Delany  continued  in  the 
prosecution  of  her  design  till   the   83d  year  of  her  age, 
when  the  dinmess  of  her  sight  obliged  her  to  lay  it  aside. 
However,    by  her   unwearied    perseverance,    she    became 
authoress  of  far  the  completest  Flor.^  that  ever  was  exe- 
cuted by  the  same  hand.     The  number  of  plants  finislied 
by  her  amounted  to  nine  hundred  and  eighty.     This  in- 
valuable   Flor.v  was  bequeathed  by  her   to    her   nephew 
Court  Dewes,  esq.  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Barnard 
Dewes,  esq.  of  Welsborn  in  Warwickshire.     The  liberality 
of  Mrs.  Delany's  mind  rendensd   her  at  all  times  ready  to 
communicate   her  art.     She  frequently  pursued  her   work 
in  company  ;  was  desirous  of  shewing  to  her  friends  hovr 
Vol.  XI.  E  £ 


41S  D  E  L  A  N  Y. 

easy  it  was  to  execute  ;  and  was  often  heard  to  lament  that 
so  few  would  attempt  it.     It  required,  however,  great  pa- 
tience and   great   knowledge  in  botanical  drawinf.     Slie 
began  to  write  poetry  at   80  years  of  age,  and  hir  verses 
shew  at  least  a  pious  disposition.     Her  private  character  is 
thus  given   by  her  friend,   Mr.  Keate.     "  She  had  every 
virtue  that  could   adorn  the  human  heart,  with   a   mind  so 
pure,   and   so   uncontaminated   by  the   world,   that  it   was 
matter  of  astonishment  how  she  could  have  lived   in  its 
more  splendid  scenes  without  being  tainted  with  one  sin- 
gle atom  of  its  folly  or  indiscretion.     The  strength  of  her 
understanding  received,  in   the  fullest  degree,  its  polish, 
but  its  weakness  never  reached  her.     Her  life  was  con- 
ducted by  the  sentiments  of  true  piety  ;  her  way  of  think- 
ing, on  every  occasion,  was  upright  and  just;  her  conver- 
sation was  lively,  pleasant,  and  instructive.    She  was  warm, 
delicate,   and  sincere  in  her  friendships  ;  full  of  philan- 
thropy   and    benevolence,    and   loved   and   respected  by 
every  person  who  had  the  happiness  to  know  her.     That 
sun-shine  and  serenity  of  mind  which  the  good  can  only 
enjoy,  and  which  had  thrown  so  much  attraction  on  her 
life,  remained  without  a  shadow  to  the  last ;  not  less  bright 
in   its   setting,  than    in   its  meridian    lustre.     That   form 
which  in  youth  had  claimed  admiration,  in  age  challenged 
respect.     It  presented  a  noble  ruin,  become  venerable  by 
the  decay  of  time.     Her  faculties  remained  unimpaired  to 
the  last ;  and  she  quitted  this  mortal  state  to  receive  in  a 
better  world  the  crown  of  a  well-spent  life." 

Mrs.  Delany  was  buried  in  a  vault  belonging  to  St. 
James's  church  ;  and,  on  one  of  its  columns,  a  stone  is  erect- 
ed to  her  memory,  with  an  inscription,  which,  after  re- 
citing her  name,  descent,  marriages,  age,  &c.  concludes 
as  follows  :  "  She  was  a  lady  of  singular  ingenuity  and 
politeness,  and  of  imaffected  piety.  These  qualities  had 
endeared  her  through  life  to  many  noble  and  excellent 
persons,  and  made  the  close  of  it  illustrious,  by  procuring 
for  her  many  signal  marks  of  grace  and  favour  from  their 
majesties." ' 

DELEBOE.     See  SYLVIUS. 

DELEYRE  (Alexander),  one  of  the  French  Encyclo- 
paedists, was  born  at  Portets,  in  the  vicinity  of  Bourdeaux, 
in  January  1726;  was  at  an  early  age  admitted  into  the 

*  Biop.  Brit.— Forbes's  Life  of  Beattje, 


D  E  L  E  Y  R  E.  419 

college  of  tlic  Jesuits,  and^  when  only  fifteen  years  old, 
was  invested  with  their  order.     He  was  a  youth  of  much 
imagination  and  sensibility,  and  at  the  same  time  strongly 
addicted   to  mental  melancholy ;   during  which  he  almost 
uninterruptedly  directed  his  thoughts  to  the  two  great  ex- 
tremes of  futurity,  heaven  and  hell,  which  distressed  him 
with  perpetual  agitations  of   mind.      Deleyre,    however, 
did  not  long  continue  in  this  state  of  mind,  but  quitted 
the  Jesuit  society,  and  with  this,  we  have  no  small  reason 
to  believe,  every  religious  faith  whatever.     As  he  was  of 
plebeian  birth,   he  could  have  no  expectations  from  the 
court ;  his  only  alternatives  were  philosophy  and  the  law ; 
and  the  latter  did  not  exactly  correspond,   we  are  told  by 
his  eulogist,  either  with  his  sensibility  or  his  independence 
of  mind.     Montesquieu  was  at  this  time  the   Mijecenas  of 
Guienne,    and    became    the   patron    of  Deleyre   from   a 
thorough  conviction  of  his  talents  :  he  introduced  him  to 
Diderot,  d'Alembert,  J.  J.  Rousseau,  and  Duclos ;  and  his 
destiny  was  fixed  :  he  decided  for  philosophy,  and  became 
a  writer  in  the  Encyclopedic.     In  this  new  capacity  his 
hardihood  was  not  inferior  to  that  of  his  colleagues ;  the 
famous,  or  rather  infamous,  article  on  fanaticism  was  soon 
known  to  have  been  of  his  production,  and  it  was  likely  to 
have  been  essentially  detrimental  to  him;  for  he  had  noiv 
fixed  his  attention  upon  matrimony,  and  had  obtained  the 
consent  of  a  lady  ;  but  the  priests  of  the  parish  in  which, 
the  ceremony  was    to    have  been  celebrated,  refused  to 
unite  them,  in   consequence  of  their  having  heard    that 
Deleyre  was  the  author  of  this  article.     His  patronage, 
however,  was  at  this  time  increased,  and  he  had  found  a 
warm  and  steady  friend  in  the  due  de  Nivernois,  who  in- 
terfered in  the  dispute,  and  Deleyre  obtained  the  fair  ob- 
ject of  his  wishes.     The  duke  had  before  this  solicited, 
and  successfully,  the  appointment  for  him  of  librarian  to 
the  infant  prince  of  Parma,  who  was  at  this  period  com- 
mitted to  the  immediate  care  of  Condillac.     In  this  situa- 
tion   he    continued    for   some    considerable    time  ;    and 
although  a  dispute  respecting  the  mode  of  educating  their 
pupil  at  length  separated  him  from  this  celebrated  logi- 
cian, he  appears  to  have  always  entertained  for  him  the 
highest  degree  of  respect. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  revolution,  Deleyre  proved 
himself  warmly  attached  to  the  popular  side  of  the  ques- 
tion :  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  National  Conven- 

£  S   2 


420  D  E  L  E  Y  R  E. 

tion  and  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Instruction.  In  revo- 
lutionary politics  he  was  a  Girondist ;  and  his  natural 
taciturnity  prevented  him  from  falling  a  sacrifice  to  the 
tyranny  of  Robespierre.  He  made  his  will  while  in  Italy, 
in  1772.  At  this  period  he  seems  to  have  anticipated  the 
approaching  misfortunes  of  his  country  :  "  France,"  says 
he,  in  this  curious  paper,  "  the  country  in  which  I  was 
born,  has,  from  the  corruption  of  her  manners,  fallen  under 
the  yoke  of  despotism.  The  nation  is  too  blind  or  too  in- 
dolent to  desire  or  be  able  to  free  herself.  The  govern- 
ment is  become  odious,  and  will  terminate  in  despotism." 
He  adds,  that,  in  consequence  hereof,  he  is  tired  of  life, 
and  that,  as  he  is  uncertain  whether  he  shall  have  patience 
enough  to  wait  for  his  decease,  or  courage  sufficient  to 
hasten  it,  he  deems  it  a  duty  to  be  prepared  with  a 
testament,  explicitly  stating  all  his  desires  concerning  him- 
self and  the  little  he  has  to  bequeath.  This  sort  of  lan- 
guage was  not  uncommon  to  the  Encyclopedists  and  their 
immediate  friends ;  but  with  all  their  vaunting,  they  ap- 
pear to  have  had  more  attachment  to  life,  or  more  dread 
of  dissolution,  than  the  German  sentimentalists.  With  the 
latter,  suicide  was  common,  even  among  many  who  seldom 
boasted  of  performing  it :  among  the  former  it  was  more 
often  threatened  than  executed.  Our  philosopher  died  in 
the  beginning  of  1797,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age, 
of  a  natural  decay.  The  three  chief  works  in  which  he 
engaged  during  his  life-time  were,  an  "  Analysis  of  the 
Philosophy  of  Bacon,"  in  whose  general  opinions  he  ap- 
pears to  liave  been  profoundly  versed  ;  a  variety  of  articles 
introduced  into  the  body  of  the  Encyclopcdie  ;  and  a 
*'  General  History  of  Voyages,"  a  voluminous  publication, 
which  extended  to  nineteen  large  octavos.  He  published 
also  "  Le  Genie  de  Montesquieu,"  12mo,  and  "  L'Esprit 
de  St.  Evremont,"  12mo.  Upon  his  decease  were  dis- 
covered many  inedited  works,  and  among  the  rest  a  poetic 
translation  of  Lucretius.  Of  such  a  translation,  France, 
as  well  as  every  other  country  in  Europe,  except  Italy,  is 
much  in  want ;  but,  from  what  we  have  seen  of  M.  Deleyre's 
metrical  ballads,  we  strongly  doubt  his  capacity  to  do  jus- 
tice to  the  inimitable  beauties  of  the  Roman  bard  :  several 
of  these  ballads  have,  nevertheless,  obtained  the  honour  of 
being  set  to  music  by  his  friend  Jean-Jaques  Rousseau. 
It  is  more  to  the  praise  of  Deleyre,  that  he  was  an  enem}^ 
to  all  persecution,  and,  when  in  the  possession  of  power. 


D  E  L  E  Y  R  E.  421 

acted  with  kindness  towards  many  who  were  of  different 
sentiments  from  his  own,  and  by  whom  he  had  been  been 
undeservedly  ill-treated.  ' 

DELFAU  (Francis),  a  French  monk,  was  born  at  Mon- 
tet  in  Aiivergne,  in  1637,  and  became  a  monk  of  Clermont 
in  1656,  where  lie  recommended  himself  to  the  notice  and 
respect  of  his  superiors  by  his  application  and  talents.  Hjb 
was  hxed  on,  at  the  instigation  of  the  celebrated  Arnaud, 
to  erive  a  new  edition  of  the  works  of  St.  Auoustine,  and 
had  made  considerable  preparation  for  the  publication, 
when  an  anonymous  tract,  entitled  "  L'  Abbe  comman- 
dataire,"  exposing  certain  ecclesiastical  abuses,  was  im- 
puted to  him,  it  is  said  unjustly.  He  must,  however,  have 
had  no  means  of  dispi'oving  the  charge,  as  he  was  banished 
for  it  to  Lower  Bretagne.  He  was  shortly  after  called 
upon  to  preach  at  Brest,  on  some  public  occasion,  when 
the  vessel  in  which  he  took  his  passage  was  wrecked,  and 
he  was  among  the  number  of  those  that  were  drowned, 
in  October  1676,  in  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  author  of  several  works,  of  little  importance  now,  if 
we  except  an  historical  eulogy,  entitled  "  The  Epitaph  of 
Casimir,  king  of  Poland,  who,  after  having  abdicated  his 
crown,  retired  into  France,  and  became  abbot  of  St.  Ger- 
main de  Pres."  ' 

DELFT,  or  Van  Delphus  (William  James),  an  ex- 
cellent painter  and  engraver,  was  the  son  of  William  Delft, 
and  a  near  relation  (grandson,  according  to  Pilkington)  of 
Michael  Miravelt,  and  born  at  Delft  in  1619.  He  drew 
and  painted  portraits  with  excellent  taste  ;  and  having 
been  instructed  by  Miravelt,  acquired  a  similar  mode  of 
design  and  colouring,  and  successfully  imitated  him  in  the 
management  of  his  pencil,  so  that  he  is  said  to  have 
equalled  Miravelt  in  force  and  delicacy.  He  is,  however, 
more  generally  known  as  an  engraver;  and  his  best  prints 
are  highly  finished  :  some  of  them  are  executed  in  a  bold, 
powerful,  open  style,  which  produces  a  fine  effect.  Such 
was  his  portrait  of  Hugo  Grotius,  dated  1652  ;  and  others 
in  a  neat  and  much  more  finished  manner,  as  we  find,  says 
Strutt,  in  the  admirable  portrait  of  Michael  Miravelt,  from 
a  picture  of  Vandyke,  It  does  not  appear  that  he  was 
ever  in  England  ;  and  yet  he  engraved  several  English 
portraits,  as  Charles  L  of  England,   Henrietta  Maria,  his 

»  Memoirs  of  the  French  Institute,  vol,  XXXII.— Di:t.  Hist.         »  Moreri. 


42i2  DELFT. 

queen,  George  Villars,  duke  of  Buckingham,  &c.  and, 
according  to  lord  Orford,  styled  himself  the  king's  en- 
graver.    He  died  in  1661.* 

DE  LISLE.     See  LISLE. 

DELIUS  (Chiiistopher  Traugott),  a  learned  Ger- 
man mineralogist,  was  born  at  Wallhausen  in  Thuringia 
in  1728,  and  died  at  Florence,  Jan.  21,  1779,  during  a 
visit  he  paid  to  the  waters  of  Pisa.  He  originally  served  in 
the  army,  but  applying  himself  to  the  sciences,  particu- 
larly mineralogy,  he  was  appointed  professor  of  the  aca- 
demy of  the  mines  at  Chemnitz,  and  was  afterwards  em- 
ployed at  Vienna  in  the  department  of  the  mines  and  mint. 
His  principal  work  was  entitled  "  Enleitung  zur  Berg- 
Baukurst,  &c."  Vienna,  1773,  4to,  embellished  with  plates, 
which  was  afterwards  translated  and  published  by  the 
order  and  at  the  expence  of  the  French  king,  under  the 
title  *^  Traite  sur  la  science  de  1'  exploitation  des  Mines," 
Paris,  1778,  4to.  He  vvrot^  also  a  work  on  niountaips 
and  their  contents.' 

DE  LOLME  (John  Louis),  a  political  writer  of  great 
abilities,  was  born  at  Geneva  about  1745.  He  received  a 
liberal  education,  and  embraced  the  profession  of  the  law, 
but  did  not  long  practise  as  an  advocate  before  he  formed 
the  resolution  of  quitting  his  native  country,  that  he  might 
display  his  lively  talents  and  his  literary  attainments  on  a 
more  conspicuous  theatre  of  action,  and  might  personally 
observe  the  constitutions  and  customs  of  more  powerful 
states.  The  English  government,  in  particular,  excited 
his  curiosity ;  and  he  resolved  to  study  its  nature  ?ind  ex- 
amine its  principles  with  particular  care  and  attention. 
He  even  endeavoured  in  the  first  work  which  he  published 
after  his  arrival  in  England,  to  lead  his  readers  into  an 
opinion  that  he  was  a  native  of  this  favoured  country. 
It  was  written  in  our  language,  and  appeared  in  1772, 
with  the  title  "  A  parallel  between  the  English  Govern-; 
ment  and  the  former  Government  of  Sweden  ;  containing 
some  observations  on  the  late  revolution  in  that  kingdom, 
and  an  examination  of  the  causes  that  secure  us  against 
both  aristocracy  and  absolute  monarchy."  Many  of  our 
countrymen  were  apprehensive  that  our  constitution  might 
be  subverted  like  that  of  Sweden  ;  but  the  learned  doctor 

^  Descarops,  vol.  I. — Pilkington. — Strutf. — Walpole's  Engravers,   p.   38-Oj 
4to  edit.  2  Diet.  Hist. 


D  E      L  O  L  iM  E.  423 

(for  M.  De  Lolme  had  previously  taken  die  degree  of 
LL.  D.)  by  contrasting  with  the  polity  of  England  the 
government  which  Gustavus  III.  had  overturned,  plausibly 
argued  that  such  fears  were  ill-founded. 

He  soon  after  commenced  that  work  which  has  esta- 
blished his  literary  and  political  fame,  entitled  "  The  CoA». 
fttitution  of  England  ;  or  an  account  of  the  English  Govern- 
ment:  in  which  it  is  compared,  both  with  the  republicaa 
form  of  government,  and  the  other  monarchies  in  Europe.'* 
It  was  applauded,  on  its  first  appearance  (in  Holland)  in 
the  French  language,  as  a  very  ingenious  and  spirited 
performance,  combining  originality  of  thought  with  just- 
ness of  remark  and  perspicuity  of  expression.  A  transla- 
tion of  it  being  earnestly  desired,  the  auth<)r  enlarged  and 
improved  it,  and  published  the  first  English  edition  in 
June  1775,  8vo.  It  was  supposed  that  he  was  the  trans- 
lator of  his  own  work  from  the  French  ;  and  his  great 
knowledge  of  our  language  was  the  subject  of  high  en- 
comium. But  if  the  general  st3le  of  the  work  be  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  dedication,  which,  in  every  sen- 
tence, bears  marks  of  a  foreign  pen,  it  will  readily  be 
concluded,  that  the  body  of  the  publication  was  chiefly 
translated  by  an  Englishman,  under  the  author's  eye. 

His  next  publication  is  said  to  have  proceeded  from  his 
aversion  to  superstition,  but  it  is  scarcely  reconcileable  to 
decorum   in  style  or  matter.     This  was  his  "  History  of 
the  Flagellants  ;  or.   Memorials    of    Human  Superstition," 
1783,  4to.     His  attention   being  afterwards  more  usefully 
called  to  the  subject  of  the  legislative  union  between  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  by  an  intended  'le-publication  of  De 
Foe's  history  of  that   memorable  transaction,  he  wrote,   in 
1787,  a  judicious  essay,  calculated  for  an  introduction  to 
that  work.    In  the  following  year  he  published  observations 
relative  to  the  tax:  upon  window-lights,  the  shop-tax,  and 
the  impost  upon  hawkers  and  pedlars.     In  these  he  urges 
his  objections  with   humour  as  well   as  argument.     When 
the   question  of  the   regency  agitated   the   minds  of  the 
public,  he  wrote,  in  1789,   "  Observations  upon  the   Na- 
tional Embarrassment,  and  tlie  proceedings  in  parliament 
relative  to  the  same."     In  this  pamphlet  he  coincides  with 
the  plan  proposed   by  ]Mr.  Pitt,  and  adopted  by   the  par- 
liament, with  the  concurrence  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
nation.     These  are  supposed  to  be   all    Mr.   De    Lolme's 
avowed  publications  j  but  he  wrote   some   letters  in  the 


424  D  E    L  O  L  M  E. 

newspapers,  particularly,  we  remember,  a  very  ingenious 
paper  on  the  question,   "  whether  the  impeachment  of  Mr. 
Hastings  abated  by  a  dissolution  of  parliament  ?"     At  what 
time  he  left  England  we  have  not  been  able  to  discover, 
but  he  died  in  Swisserland   in  1807,  leaving  a  name  cer- 
tainly of  considerable  eminence  in  the  annals  of  literature. 
His  perception   was  acute,  and  his   mind  vigorous.     Not 
content  with  a  hasty  or  superficial  observation  of  the  cha- 
racters of  men  and  the  attairs  of  states,  he  examined  them 
with  a  philosophic  spirit  and  a  discerning  eye.      He  could 
ably  speculate  on  the  different  modes  of  government,  de- 
velope  the  disguised  views  of  princes  and  ministers,  and 
detect  the   arts  and  intrigues  of  demagogues  and  pseudo- 
patriots.     His   work  on   the  Constitution    of  England   has 
been  generally  supposed  the  mo«t  rational  and  enlightened 
survey  of  the  subject ;  and  his  last  editor  is  of  opinion  that 
even   the  labours  of  professor   Millar   and   other  British 
writers  do  not  appear  to  have  discredited  or  falsified  this 
high  character  of  the  work. 

By  this,  we  regret  to  add,  De  Lolme  was  not  much  a 
gainer.     It  was   discouraged  on  its  first  appearance,  and 
although  mentioned  with  high   respect  by  some  leading 
men    in   parliament,   nothing   substantial    was  done  for  its 
author.      His  private  life,  however,  had  many  singularities, 
and  De  Lolme  was  not  a  man  to  be  provided  for  by  casual 
bounty,  or  casual  patronage.      He  expected,  and  had  rea- 
son  to   expect,  some  permanent  reward  that  might  have 
led  to  independence.     Disappointed  in   this,  his  pride  of 
spirit  would  not  suffer  him  to  solicit  inferior  rewards.     For 
some  years,   when   inquiries  were  made  by  men  of  rank, 
who  probably  meant  to  have  assisted  him,  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  trace  his  lodgings,  which  he  frequently  changed, 
and  in  some  of  which  he   passed  by   fictitious  names.      He 
lived    on   little,  and    his  appearance   and    personal   habits 
became  slovenly.     Before  he  left  this  country,  we  are  told, 
he  received  some  aid  from  the  Literary  Fund  ;  but  how  he 
lived  abroad,  we  have  not   beard.     From  personal  know- 
ledi;e   we  can  subscribe   to  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Coote's 
character  of  him:  "  He  had  the  art  of  pleasing  in  conversa- 
tion, though  the  graces  did  not  ivppear  in   his  manners  or 
deportment.      He  had  a  turn  for  pleasantry  and  humour; 
and   has  been  compared  to    Burke   for  the  variety  of  his 
illusions,  and  the  felicity  of  his  illustrations.      His  general 
temper  has  been  praised  ;  but  his  spirit  was  considered  by 


D  E     L  O  L  M  E.  425 

many  as  too  high  for  his  fortune  ;  yet,  in  one  respect,  his 
mi. id  assiiiiilated  to  the  occasional  penury  under  which  he 
lab.nired  ;  lor,  in  his  niotle  ot  living,  he  could  imitate  the 
temperance  and  self-denial  of  a  {jliilosopher."  In  1807, 
an  edition  of  iiis  work  on  the  Constitution  was  published, 
illustrateil  by  notes,  and  a  critical  and  biographical  pre- 
face by  Dr.  Charles  Coote  Of  this  last  we  have  availed 
ourselves  in  the  present  sketch.  For  an  account  of  the 
early  neglect  with  whicli  De  Lolme  was  treated,  the  reader 
may  be  referred  to  his  own  preface.  * 

DELRIO  (Martin  Antony),  a  very  learned  Jesuit,  was 
borci  at  Antwerp  of  Spanish  parents,  in  1551.     The  pro- 
gress he  made  in   letters,   while  a  very  boy,   is  recorded 
with  wonder.      He  was  taught  grammar  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries,  and  then  sent  to  Paris  to  learn  rhetoric  and  philoso- 
phy under  the  Jesuits.     7\fterwards  he  went  to  study  civil 
law  in  the  new  university  of  Dowaj^  ;  but  removing  from 
thence  to  Louvain,  he  laid  aside  that  pursuit,  and  applied 
himself  to   polite   literature,  which  he  cultivated   with  so 
much  ardour  and  success,  that   he    surprised  the   public, 
when  he  was  only  nineteen  years  of  age,   with  some  good 
notes   upon  the  tragedies   of  Seneca.     "  What  is  more,'* 
says  Bail  let,  "  he  cited   in  this  work  almost  1100  authors, 
with    all    the    assurance    of   a   man    who    had    read    them 
thoroughly,  and  weighed  their  sentiments  with  great  judg- 
ment and   exactness."     The   reputation    he    acquired   by 
this   first  essay  of  his  erudition  was  afterwards  increased. 
He  is  said  to  have  understood  at  least  ten  lansjuag-es,  and 
to  have  read  every  thing,   ancient  and  modern,  that  was 
thought  worth  readinor.     He  was  admitted  LL.  D.  at  Sala- 
manca   in  1574;  and    was  afterwards   a  counsellor  of  the 
parliament   of   Brabant,   and    an    intendant  of    the  army. 
In  1580  he  became  a  Jesuit  at  Valladolid  ;  from   whence 
going  into   the  Low  Countries,   he  taught  divinity  and  the 
belles  lettres,  and  contracted  a  firm  friendship   with   Lip- 
sius.      He  taught  also  at  Liege,  at  Mentz,   at  Gratz,  and  at 
♦Salamanca.      He  died  at  Louvain,  in  1608,  about  two  years 
after  his  friend  Lipsius. 

Besides  notes  upon  Seneca,  Claudian,  and  Solinus,  he 
wrote  a  great  number  of  works,  the  principal  of  which  are, 
1.  "  Disquisitiones   Magicoe,"  1601,   3  vols.  4to,  an  elabo- 

*  Biog.   preface  as  above. — Mr.  D'Israeli  has  paid  an   affertionate  and  spi- 
tited  tribute  to  De  Loluie'i  memory  in  his  "  Calamities  of  Auihors." 


426  D  E  L  R  I  O. 

rate  work,  but  too  well  suited  to  the  credulity  of  the  age. 

2.  Commentaries    upon  some  books  of  the  Old  Testament. 

3.  Explications  of  some  of  the  hardest  and  most  important 
texts  of  scripture. ' 

DEMADB^S,  an  Athenian,  who  from  a  mariner  became 
an  orator,  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Cheronea 
gained  by  Philij)  of  Macedon.  By  his  eloquence  he  ac- 
quired a  great  ascendancy  over  the  mind  of  that  prirvce. 
One  day,  Philip  making  his  appearance  before  the  pri- 
soners with  all  the  ornaments  of  royalty,  and  cruelly  in- 
sulting their  misery  :  "  I  am  astonished,"  said  Demades, 
*'  that,  fortune  having  assigned  you  the  part  of  Agami^jm- 
non,  you  can  amuse  yourself  in  playing  that  of  Thersites.'* 
Demades  was  no  less  interested  than  eloquent.  Antipater, 
his  friend  as  well  as  that  of  Phocion,  complained  that  he 
could  never  make  the  latter  accept  of  any  presents,  while 
he  could  not  bestow  on  the  other  enough  to  satisfy  his 
covetousness.  Demades  was  put  to  death,  under  sus- 
picion of  treason,  in  the  year  332  before  Christ.  Nothing 
of  his  has  come  down  to  us,  except  the  "  Oratio  de  Duo- 
decennali,"  Greek  and  Latin,  Hanov.  1619,  8vo,  and  ia 
the  "Rhetorum  collectio,"  Venice,  1513,   3  tom.  folio.  ^ 

DEMAINBRAY  (Stephen  Charles),  an  ingenious 
electrician,  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St.  Martin's,  London, 
in  1710.  His  father  having  escaped  from  France  to  Hol- 
land, upon  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  came 
over  to  England  with  kins:  William.  He  died  soon  after 
the  birth  of  his  son,  who  was  brought  up  by  his,  uncle,  an 
officer  in  the  English  service,  and  page  of  honour  to  queen 
Mary,  who  placed  him  at  Westminster  school.  Whilst 
pursuing  his  studies  there,  he  boarded  in  the  house  of  Dr. 
Desaguliers,  who  instructed  him  in  the  mathematics  and 
natural  philosophy.  At  the  age  of  seventeen,  before  he 
had  left  school,  he  married  ;  and  went  to  Leyden  and  fol- 
lowed his  studies  in  the  university  of  that  place.  In  1740, 
he  began  to  read  lectures  in  experimental  philosophy  at 
Edinburgh,  and  continued  them  till  he  was  interrupted  by 
the  rebellion.  He  then  took  up  arms  for  governjnent, 
and  was  a  voliniteer  at  the  battle  of  Preston-pans.  In 
1746,  he  resumed  his  lectures,  and  published  his  discovery 
of  the  effects  of  electricity  upon  the  growth  of  vegetables. 

'  Moreri. — Niceron,  vol.    XX. — Fopprn   Bibl.    Dtlg. — Elount's   Censura.— 
Baillfl  .lugi'inens. — Diet.  Hist. — .Saxii  Onomast. 
8  Moreri. — Eabiic,  Bibl.  Giajc. — Saxii  Onomast. 


D  E  M  A  I  N  B  R  A  Y.  427 

This  discovery  was  afterwards  claimed  by  abb6  Nollet ; 
but  is  very  properly  assigned  to  Dr.  Demainbray  by  Dr. 
Priestley,  in  his  "  History  of  Electricity."  In  1749,  Dr; 
Demainbray  went  to  Dublin,  where  he  read  his  lectures 
with  much  success,  as  he  did  afterwards  in  several  of  the 
French  universities,  who  honoured  him  with  prize  medals, 
and  admitted  him  into  their  societies.  In  1753,  being 
then  at  Paris,  he  was  invited  over  to  England,  to  read  a 
course  of  lectures  to  his  present  majesty  (then  prince  of 
Wales)  and  the  duke  of  York.  On  his  return  to  England 
he  married  a  second  wife,  his  first  wife  having  died  about 
the  year  1750.  In  1755  he  read  a  public  course  of  lectures 
in  the  concert-room  in  Panton-street,  and  in  1757  in 
Carey-street,  opposite  Boswell-court.  After  this  he  gave 
private  courses  to  other  branches  of  the  royal  family  ;  and 
on  the  arrival  of  her  present  majesty  in  England,  instructed 
her  in  experimental  philosophy,  and  natural  history.  In 
1768,  he  was  appointed  astronomer  to  his  majesty's  new 
observatory  at  Richmond,  and  adjusted  the  instiuments 
there  in  time  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus,  which  hap- 
pened the  ensuing  year.  Dr.  Demainbray  died  at  Rich- 
mond Feb.  20,  1782,  and  was  interred  in  the  churchyard 
of  Northall,   where  he  had  purchased  a  small  estate. ' 

DEMETRIUS  PHALEREUS,  a  peripatetic  philoso- 
pher, and  an  illustrious  ornament  of  that  school,  lived  in 
the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  was  a  scholar  of 
Theophrastus.  He  is  represented  as  a  flowery,  rather  than 
a  persuasive  speaker,  and  as  one  who  aimed  at  grace  rather 
than  manner.  Cicero  says  he  amused  the  Athenians  rather 
than  warmed  them;  yet  such  was  the  intluence  of  his 
harangues,  that  at  Athens  he  was  almost  absolute  for  ten 
years.  Three  hundred  and  sixty  statues  were  erected  in 
his  honour  ;  and  not  undeservedly,  since  he  is  said  to  have 
augmented  the  revenues  of  it,  as  well  as  to  have  improved 
and  polished  its  buildings.  But  envy  at  length  conspiring 
against  him,  his  statues  were  pulled  down,  and  himseli 
threatened  with  death  ;  but  he  escaped  into  Egypt,  and 
was  protected  hy  Ptolemy  Soter.  This  king,  it  is  said, 
asked  his  advice  concerninsf  the  succession  of  his  children 
to  the  throne,  viz.  whether  he  ought  to  prefer  those  he  had 
by  Eurydice  to  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  whom  he  had  by 
Berenice  j  and  Demetrius  advised  him  to  leave  his  crown 

*  Ljsons's  Environs,  vol.  III, 


428  DEMETRIUS. 

to  the  former.  This  displeased  Philadelphiis  so  much-, 
that,  his  father  h'eiiig  dead,  he  banished  Demetrius,  wlio, 
unable  to  support  the  repeated  misfortunes  he'  had  met 
with,  put  an  end  to  his  life,  by  the  bite  of  an  asp.  De- 
metrius composed  more  works  in  prose  and  verse,  than  any 
other  periptitetic  of  his  time;  and  his  writings  consisted  of 
poetry,  history,  politics,  rhetoric,  harangues,  and  embas- 
sies. None  of  his  works  are  extant :  for  as  to  the  piece 
*'  De  Interpretatione,"  which  goes  under  his  name,  and 
is  usually  printed  with  the  "  Rhetores  Selecti,"  there  are 
several  internal  marks,  which  shew  that  it  is  probably  of  a 
later  date.  He  is  supposed  to  be  the  same  with  him  that 
collected  tooether  200,000  volumes  into  the  library  of 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  who,  to  make  it  complete,  caused 
that  translation  of  the  Bible  out  of  Hebrew  into  Greek  to 
be  made,  which  is  commonly  called  the  Septuagint.  And 
if  it  should  be  objected,  that  Demetrius  could  not  possi- 
bly be  the  manager  of  this  affair,  since  he  was  banished  by 
Philadelphus  as  soon  as  he  came  to  the  crown,  it  has  gene- 
rally been  thought  sufficient  to  say,  that  these  books  were 
collected,  and  this  translation  made,  while  Ptolemy  Phila- 
delphus reigned  with  his  father  Ptolemy  Soter,  But  this 
story  is  now  generally  discredited,  and  the  Septuagint  is 
ascribed  to  the  private  labour- of  the  Jews,  who  were  at  this 
time  resident  in  Egypt.  When  Demetrius  was  born,  and 
when  he  died,  we  know  not;  but  his  disgrace  at  Athens  is 
said  to  have  happened  about  the  year  of  Rome  436,  that  is, 
somewhat  about  300  years  before  Christ. ' 

DEMETRIUS  PEPANUS,  a  learned  writer  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  whose  works  have  but  lately  been 
brought  to  light,  was  born  in  the  island  of  Chio ;  he  took 
the  surname  of  Domesticus,  as  appears  from  the  title  of 
his  works.  In  1637,  became  to  Rome  to  prosecute  his 
studies  in  the  Greek  college,  and  seven  years  after  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  country.  During  his  studies  at  Rome, 
he  made  so  considerable  a  progress  in  learning  and  belles 
lettres,  that  he  was  appointed  to  teach  his  fellow-students 
the  Greek  language  ;  but  an  illness,  to  which  he  became 
subject,  and  which  was  thought  likely  to  terminate  in  an 
epilepsy,  obliged  him  to  leave  the  college,  and  disabled 
him  from  taking  the  intended  order  of  priesthood.  Yet 
before  his  return  to  the  island  of  Chio,  he  made,  with  the 

'  Biucker. — Diogenes  Laertius. — Moreri. — Saxii  Onomast. 


DEMETRIUS.  429 

celebrated  Lucas  Holstenius,  a  tour  to  Florence,  in  order 
to  examine  tiie  Greek  MSS.  in  the  Laurentian  library. 
After  his  return  to  Chio,  though  he  was  not  obliged  to 
preach  the  Roman  catholic  religion,  he  attempted  to  sup- 
port and  defend  it  by  his  writings.  Controversial  divinity 
appears  to  have  been  the  main  object  of  his  pursuits  ; 
though  he  also  cultivated  poetry  and  physic.  He  com- 
posed a  great  number  of  iambic  verses  on  sacred  subjects; 
one,  among  others,  entitled  "I'he  Triumph  of  the  Catholic 
Faith."  He  wrote  also  a  physical  treatise  against  Galen  and 
his  disciples.  He  married  in  1649  ;  but  the  latter  part  of 
his  life  and  his  death  are  not  recorded,  though  by  the  ac- 
count of  his  countr3^men  he  seems  to  have  died  at  Messina. 
His  works  were  published  for  the  first  time  in  1781,  at 
Rome,  in  2  vols.  '4vo,  under  the  title  "  Demetrii  Pepani 
Domestici  Chii  Opera  quiE  reperiuntur  ;  e  Graeca  in  Lati- 
iium  vertit  et  adnotationes  adjecit  Bernardus  Stephano- 
polus;  accedit  prsefatio  Joannis  Christophori  Aaiadutii, 
cujus  cura  et  studio  nunc  primum  eduntur  Epistolas  tres 
Graeco-Latinae  Imperatorum  Constantinopolitanorum  Joan- 
nis et  Emauuelis  C.omneni  ad  Romanos  pontifices  Houo- 
rium  II.  et  Alexandrum  III."  Demetrius's  manuscripts 
were  discovered  by  signer  Stellio  Raffaelli,  consul  for  ihe 
English  East  India  company  at  Chio,  who  sent  them  in 
1776  to  cardinal  York,  and  earnestly  requested  of  his  emi- 
nence to  get  them  published.  The  cardmars  zeal  for  eru- 
dition, and  for  the  interests  of  the  Roman  catholic  religion, 
prompted  him  to  grant  the  request,  and  to  charge  Ste- 
phanopoli  and  Amaduzzi,  two  able  Greek  scholars,  to 
translate  the  MSS.  in  question  into  Latin,  and  to  publish 
both  the  text  and  their  version  together.  They  consist 
chiefly  of  polemical  treatises  in  favour  of  some  points  in 
dispute  between  the  Roman  catholics  and  protestants,  and 
between  the  Roman  catholics  and  the  Greek  church  ;  but 
the  most  valuable  part  of  tiie  work  is  the  very  learned  pre- 
face by  Amaduzzi,  respecting  the  origin  and  progress  of 
the  vulgar  and  modern  Greek  language,  in  which  several 
of  Demetrius's  treatises  are  written  ;  and  another  prefixed 
to  the  letters  mentioned  in  the  title  of  the  work,  which 
may  be  considered  as  one  of  the  best  essays  extant  on  the 
ancient  Greek  hand-writing.^ 

DE  MISSY  (C.esak),  a  man  greatly  distinguished    in 
the  learned  ^rld,  was  born  at  Berlin,  June  2,  1703,  being 

*  Diet.  Hist,  in  Pepano. — Critical  Rev.  vol.  LIIl. 


430  D  E     M  I  S  S  Y. 

the  son  of  a  merchant  there.  He  studied  first  at  the  French 
college  at  Berlin,  and  thence  removed  to  the  university  of 
Francfort  on  the  Oden     He  was  examined  for  the  ministry 
in   1725,  and  after  some  difficulties  obtained  it;  but  the 
ecclesiastics  there  being  obliged  to  certain  subscriptions, 
to  which  he  could  not  assent,   he  quitted  the  country  soon 
after.     He  preached  about  five  years  in  different  towns  of 
the  United  Provinces,  from  whence  he  was  invited  to  Lon- 
don in  1731,  and  ordained  to  serve  the  French  chapel  in 
the  Savoy.     In  1762  he  was  named  by  the  bishop  of  Lon- 
don to  be  one  of  the  French  chaplains  to  the  king  in  his 
chapel  at  St.  James's.     He  died  Aug.  10,    1775.     He  sel- 
dom published  any  thing,  except  occasionally,  in  conse- 
quence of  unforeseen  engagements,  or  at  the  importunity 
of  friends.     Several  little  poetical  pieces,  essays  both  in 
sacred  and  profane  literature,  epitomes  of  books,  memoirs, 
dissertations,  &c.  by  De  Missy,  with  his  initials  C.  D.  M. 
or  some  assumed  name,  and  frequently  anonymous,  ap- 
peared in  different  collections  and  periodical  journals  in 
Holland,  France,  and  England,  from  1721,  many  of  which 
are  enumerated  by  Mr.  Nichols.     He  was  greatly  assisting 
to    many   of  the  learned,  in  their  several  undertakings  : 
among  others  indebted   to  him,  were  the  late  professor 
Wetstein  in  his  splendid  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament, 
Dr.  Jortin  in  his  Life  of  Erasmus,  and  Mr.  Bowyer  and 
Mr.  Nichols  in   "  Two  Essays  on  the  Origin  of  Printing." 
His  name  will  frequently  occur  in  the  works  of  the  learned, 
and  therefore  it  was  necessary  that  something  should  be 
upon   record  concerning  him.     The  writer  of  this  short 
extract  can  add,  from  his  own  personal  knowledge  of  him, 
that  he  was  not  only  very  acute  and  very  learned,  but  a 
sincere   lover  and  bold  assertor  of  truth,  and   a  man  of 
many  and  great  virtues.     He  was  twice  married,  but  left  no 
child.     After  his  death  were  published  "  Sermons  sur  di- 
vers Textes  de  I'Ecriture  Sainte,   par  feu  Monsieur  Cesar 
de   Missy,"  Z  vols.   8vo.      His  valuable  hbrary,   which  was 
sold  by  Baker  and  Leigh  in  1778,  consisted  of  many  books 
enriched  with  his   MS  notes,    some  of  which  were  pur- 
chased for  his  majesty's  library,  some  for  the  British  Mu- 
seum, and  some  by  Dr.  Hunter,  who  also  bought  several 
of  his  manuscripts. ' 

DEMOCRITUS,  oi.q  of  the  most  eminent  philosopher* 
of  antiquity,  and  of  noble  descent,  was  a  natiVe  of  Abdera, 

•  Nichols's  Bowyer,  vol.  III. 


D  E  M  O  C  R  I  T  U  S.  4Sl 

a  town  ill  Tlirace,  and  born,  according  to  Laertius,  in  the 
first  year  of  the  80th  olympiad,  or  460  B.  C.  He  was 
contemporary  with  Socrates,  Anaxagoras,  Arclielaus,  Par- 
menides,  Zeno,  and  Protagoras.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
instructed  by  some  Chaldean  magi  in  astronomy  and  theo- 
logy. After  the  deatii  of  his  father,  he  determined  to 
travel  in  search  of  wisdom,  and  having  received  his  frater- 
nal portion  of  his  father's  estates  in  money,  amounting  to 
one  hundred  talents,  he  went  first  into  Egypt,  for  the  sake 
of  learning  geometry  from  the  Egyptian  priests  ;  and  then 
turned  aside  into  Ethiopia,  to  converse  with  the  gymnoso- 
phists  of  that  country  ;  after  which  he  passed  over  into 
Asia,  resided  some  time  among  the  Persian  magi,  for  the 
purpose  of  learning  magical  philosophy,  and,  as  some  as- 
sert, travelled  into  India.  Whether,  in  the  course  of  his 
travels,  he  visited  Athens,  or  attended  upon  Anaxagoras,  is 
•uncertain.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that,  during 
some  part  of  his  life,  he  was  instructed  in  the  Pythagorean 
school,  and  particularly  that  he  was  a  disciple  of  Leucip- 
pus. 

After  these  travels,  he  returned  to  Abdera,  rich  in  phi- 
losophic treasures,  but  destitute  of  the  necessary  means  of 
subsistence.      His  brother  Damasis,  however,  received  him 
kindly,  and   liberally    supplied   his   exigencies.     It   was   a 
law  in  Abdera,  that  whoever  should  waste  all  his  patrimony 
should  be  deprived  of  the  rites  of  sepulture.     Democritus, 
desirous  of  avoidina;  the  discjrace  to  which  this  law  sub- 
jected  him,  gave  public  instructions  to  the  people,  chiefly 
from  his   larger  "  Diacosmus,"  the   most  valuable   uf  his 
writings ;  and  in  return  he  received  from  his  hearers  many 
valuable  presents,  and  other  testimonies  of  respect,   which 
relieved  him  from  all  ajiprehension  of  suffering  public  cen- 
sure as  a  spendthrift.     Laertius  asserts  that  his  countrymen 
loaded  him  with  riches,  to  the  amount  of  five  hundred  ta- 
lents ;  but  this,   raised  in  such  a  town,  and  bestowed  on  an 
individual,  seems  wholly  incredible,  especially  if  we  con- 
sider that  few  royal  treasuries  were  at  that  time  able  to  furnish 
such  a  sum.     There  can  be  no  doubt,   however,   that  De- 
mocritus,  by  his  learning  and   wisdom,  and  especially  by 
his   acquaintance  with   nature,  acquired   great  fame,  and 
excited  much  admiration   among   the   ignorant  Abderites. 
By  giving  previous  notice   of  unexpected  changes  in  the 
weather,  and  by  other  artifices,    he   had   the   address   to 
make  them  believe  that  he  possessed  a  power  of  predicting 


432  D  E  M  O  C  R  I  T  U  S. 

future  events ;  and  by  this  means  he  gained  such  an 
ascendancy  over  them,  that  tnt  y  nui  only  gave  him  the 
appellation  of  Wisdom,  and  looked  upon  nim  as  something 
more  than  mortul,  but  proposed  to  entru-t  mm  witli  the 
direction  of  their  public  adairs.  From  inchnation  and 
habit,  he,  however,  preferred  a  contemplative  to  an  active 
life,  and  therefore  declined  these  pnl)lic  honours,  and 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  solitude. 

It  is  said,  that,  from   this  time,   Democritus  rpent  his 
days  and  nights  in  caverns  and  sepulchres;   and  that  m  one 
of  these  gloomy  retreats,   whilst  he  sat  by   his   midnight 
lamp  busily  engaged  in  writing,  he  was  on  a  sudden  visited 
by  several  young  men,  who,   in  order  to  terrify  him,  had 
clothed  themselves  in  black  garments,  and  put   on    masks, 
pretending  to  be  ghosts  ;  but  that,  upon  their  appearance, 
he  coolly  requested  them  not  to  play  the  fool,  and  went  on 
with  the  studies  in  which  they  found  him  employed.     Others 
relate,   that  Democritus,  in    order    to    be    more    perfectly 
master  of  his  intellectual  faculties,  by  means  of  a  burning 
glass  deprived   himself  of  the   organs   of  sight.      But  the 
former  of  these  stories  has  the  air  of  fable ;  and  the  latter 
is  wholly  incredible,  since  the  writers  who  relate  it  affirm, 
that  Democritus  employed   his   leisure  in   writing  books, 
and  in  dissecting  the  bodies  of  animals,   neither  of  which 
could  very  well  have  been  effected  without  eyes.      Cicero, 
who  was  not  destitute  of  credulity,  mentions  the  story,  but 
at  the  same  time  intimates   bis  own  doubts  concerning  its 
truth.     Nor  is  greater  credit  due  to  the  tale,  that  Demo- 
critus spent  his  leisure  hours  in  chemical  researches  after 
the  philosopher's  stone,   the  dream  of  a  later  age;  or   to 
the  story  of  his  conversation  with  Hippocrates,  grounded 
upon  letters,  which  are  said  to  have   passed  between  that 
iiither  of  medicine  and  the  people  of  Abdera,   on  the  sup- 
posed madness  of  Democritus,  but  which  are  so  evidently 
spurious,  that  it  would  require  the  credulity  of  the  Abde- 
rites  themselves  to  suppose  them  genuine.     All  that  is  pro- 
bable concerning  this  conversation,  so  circumstantially  and 
eloquently  related  in  the  epistles  ascribed  to  Hippocrates, 
is,  that  Hippocrates,   who   was  contemporary  with  Demo- 
critus, admired    his  extensive  knowledge    of  nature,  and 
reprobated   the  stupidity   of  the  Abderites,   who  imputed 
his  wonderful  operations  to  a  supernatural  intercoui'se  with 
duemons,  or  to  madness. 


D  E  M  O  C  R  I  T  U  3.  433 

The  only  reasonable  conclusion  which  can  be  drawn 
jfroin  these  marvellous  tales,  is  that  Democritus  was,  what 
he  is  commonly  represented  to  have  been,  a  man  of  sublime 
genius  and  penetrating  judgment,  who,  by  a  long  course 
of  studv  and  observation,  became  an  eminent  master  of 
speculative  and  physical  science;  the  natural  consequence 
ot"  which  was,  that,  like  Roger  Bacon  in  a  later  period,  he 
astonished  and  imposed  upon  his  ignorant  and  credulous 
countrymen.  Petronius  relates,  that  he  was  perfectly  ac- 
quainted with  the  virtues  of  herbs,  jjlants,  and  stones,  and 
that  he  spent  his  life  in  making  experiments  upon  natural 
bodies. 

Democritus  has  been  commonly  known  under  the  appel- 
lation of  the  Laughing  Philosopher;  and  it  is  gravely  re- 
lated by  Seneca,  that  he  never  appeared  in  public,  with- 
out expressing  his  contempt  of  the  follies  of  mankind  by 
laughter.  But  this  account  is  wholly  inconsistent  with 
what  has  been  related  concerning  his  fondness  for  a  life  of 
gloomy  solitude  and  profound  contemplation  ;  and  with  that 
strength  and  elevation  of  mind,  which  his  philosophical  re- 
searches must  have  required,  and  which  are  ascribed  to  him 
by  the  general  voice  of  antiquity.  Thus  much,  however, 
may  be  easily  admitted,  on  the  credit  of  yElian  and  Lucian, 
that  a  man  so  superior  to  the  generality  of  his  contempo- 
raries, and  whose  lot  it  was  to  live  among  a  race  of  men, 
the  Abderites,  who  were  stupid  to  a  proverb,  might  fre- 
quently treat  their  follies  with  ridicule  and  contempt.  Ac- 
cordingly we  find  that,  among  his  fellow-citizens,  he  ob- 
tained the  appellation  of  vE^aaivo;,  or  the  derider. 

He  appears  to  have  been  in  his  [jersonal  character  chaste 
and  temperate ;  and  his  sobriety  was  repaid  by  a  healthy 
old  age.  He  lived,  and  enjoyed  the  use  of  his  faculties, 
to  the  term  of  an  hundred  years  (some  say  several  years 
longer),  and  at  last  died  through  mere  decay.  The  fol- 
lowing singular  circumstance  is  said  to  have  happened  just 
before  his  death.  His  sister,  who  had  the  care  of  him, 
observing  him  to  be  near  his  end,  expressed  great  regret 
that  his  immediate  death  would  prevent  her  celebrating  the 
approaching  festival  of  Ceres  ;  upon  which  Democritus, 
who  was  now  unable  to  receive  any  nourishment,  that  he 
might  if  possible  gratify  her  wish  by  living  a  few  days  lon- 
ger, desired  her  often  to  bring  hot  bread  near  his  nostrils : 
tlie  experiment  succeeded,  and  he  was  preserved  alive 
without  food  for  three  days.     His  death  was  exceedingly 

Vol.  XI.  '    F  f 


43i  t)  E  M  O  C  R  I  T  U  S. 

lamented  by  his  countrymen  ;  and  the  charge  of  his  funeral 
was  defrayed  from  the  pubhc  treasury.  He  wrote  much, 
but  none  of  his  works  are  extant.  A  catalogue  of  them 
may  be  seen  in  Diogenes  Laertius. 

Brucker  gives  the  following  analysis  of  his  doctrines: 
concerning  truth  Democritus  taught,  that  there  are  two 
kinds  of  knowledge,  one  obscure,  derived  from  the  senses,, 
and  another  genuine,  obtained  by  the  exercise  of  thought 
upon  the  nature  of  things.  This  latter  mode  of  acquiring 
certain  knowledge  he  confessed  to  be  very  difficult;  and, 
therefore,  he  used  to  sa}'^,  that  truth  Jay  in  a  deep  well, 
from  which  it  is  the  office  of  reason  to  draw  it  up.  Con- 
cerning physics,  it  was  the  doctrine  of  this  philosopher, 
that  nothing  can  ever  be  produced  from  that  which  has  no 
existence,  and  that  any  thing  which  exists  can  never  be 
annihilated.  Whatever  exists  must  consequently  owe  its 
being  to  necessary  and  self-existent  principles,  of  which  he 
conceived  there  were  two  ;  ^7,2.  atoms,  and  a  vacuum,  both 
infinite,  the  former  in  number,  the  latter  in  magnitude. 
Atoms  are  solid,  and  the  only  beings ;  vacuum,  or  entire 
space,  can  neither  be  said  to  be  existent  nor  non-existent, 
being  neither  corporeal  nor  incorporeal.  Atoms  have  the 
property  of  figure,  magnitude,  motion,  and  weight,  being 
heavy  in  proportion  to  their  bulk.  They  are  various  in 
figure  and  in  magnitude ;  and  are  perfectly  solid,  indivi- 
sible, and  unalterable.  These  atoms  have  been  eternally 
moving  in  infinite  vacuum  or  space,  in  a  direction  perpe- 
tuall}'  deviating  from  a  right  line  ;  and  thus  collisions  are 
produced,  which  occasion  innumerable  combinations  of 
particles,  from  which  arises  the  various  form  of  things 
that  exist.  These  primary  corpuscles  are  moved  and  united 
by  that  natural  necessity,  which  is  the  only  fate  that  creates 
and  governs  the  world.  The  system  of  nature  is  one,  con- 
sisting of  parts,  differing  in  their  figure,  order,  and  situa- 
tion. The  production  of  an  organized  body  is  occasioned 
by  the  suitable  arrangement  of  atoms,  adapted  in  their 
nature  to  form  that  body;  if  it  be  diversified,  alteration 
takes  place  ;  if  it  be  entirely  destroyed,  dissolution.  The 
qualities  of  bodies  are  not  essential  to  their  nature,  but  the 
casual  effect  of  arrangement;  and  this  occasions  the  dif- 
ferent impressions  which  they  make  upon  the  senses.  In 
infinite  space  there  are  innumerable  worlds,  some  similar, 
others  dissiuiiiar;  bwt  all  subject  to  growth,  decay,  and 
destruction.  The  world  has  no  animating  principle,  but 
all  things  are  moved  by  the  rapid  agitation  of  atoms.     The 


D  E  M  O  C  R  I  T  U  S.  435 

sun  and  moon  are  composed  of  light  particles,  revolving 
about  a  common  centre.  The  heavenly  bodies  are  ar- 
ranged in  the  following  order ;  first,  the  fixed  stars,  then 
the  planets,  then  the  sun,  then  the  moon  :  all  move  from 
east  to  wfst,  and  those  which  are  nearest  revolve  with  the 
least  velocity  ;  so  that  the  sun,  the  inferior  planets,  and 
the  moon,   move  more  slowly  than  the  rest. 

A  comet  is  a  combination  of  planets,   which  approaching 
near  each  other,  a|)pear  as  one  body.     The  earth   at  first 
was  so  small  and  li.i;ht,  as  to  wander  about  in  the  regions 
of  space ;   but  at  length   increasing  in  density,   it  became 
immoveable.     The  sea  is  continually  decreasing,  and  will 
at  length   be  dried  up.      Man   was  at   first  produced   from 
water  and  earth.      Our  knowledge  of  his  existence  arises 
from  consciousness.     The  soul,   or  principle  of  animal  life 
and  motion,   is  the  result  of  a  combination    of  round   or 
fiery  panicles,  consisting  of  two  parts,  one  seated  in  the 
breast,  which  is  the  rational,  the  other  diffused  through 
the  whole  bod}^,  which  is  the  irrational.     The  soul  perishes 
with  the  body  ;  but  human  bodies,  though  they  perish,  will 
revive.     Different  animal  beings  possess  different  senses. 
Perception  is  produced  by  el'Sw^a,  images,  which  flow  from 
bodies   according    to   their  respective   figures,  and   strike 
upon  the  organ  of  sense. 

The  fundamental  difference  between  the  doctrine  of  De- 
mocritus,    and    that    of  former    philosophers,    concerning 
atoms,  is,  that  the  latter  conceived  small  particles  endued 
with  various  qualities  ;  whereas   this  philosopher  conceived 
the  qualities  of  bodies  to  be,  as  we  have  already  said,  the 
mere    effect  of  arrangement.     Democritus,  in   his"  whole 
system,   pays  no  regard  to  an  external  efiicient  cause,  but 
absurdly  supposes,  that  the  intrinsic  necessity,  which  gives 
motion  to  atoms,  is  alone  sufficient  to  account  for  the  phae- 
nomena  of  nature.     Whatever  he  is  said  to  have  taught 
concerning  nature,  fate,  or  providence,  he  merely  asserted, 
that  the  fire,  which  resulted  from  the  combination  of  cer- 
tain subtle  atoms,  and  which  has  been  called  the  soul  of  the 
world,  is  a  mechanical  agent  in  nature,  causing  by  its  rapid 
motion  the  changes  whi*  h  take  place  in  the  universe.     Plu- 
tarch saj's,  that  Democritus  considered  the  sun  and  moon 
as  ignited   plates   of  stone ;  but  this  is  not  consistent  with 
his  general  system,  and  with  his  knowledge  of  nature.     The 
belief  of  the  materiality  of  the  soul  was  the  natural  result 
of  the  atomic  system ;  for  if  the  soul  be  a  mere  composition 

F  F   2 


436  D  E  M  O  C  R  I  T  U  S. 

of  atomS)  when  these  are  dispcijedj  it  must  perish.  As  to 
the  reviviscence  of  human  bodies,  lie  can  only  be  supposed 
to  mean,  that  the  aton»s  composing  any  human  soul,  would, 
after  their  dispersion,  coalesce  again,  in  some  distant  pe- 
viod,  and  recover  their  former  life.  The  term  bi^o^xov,  or 
image,  seems  to  have  had,  in  his  use  of  it,  two  dift'erent 
significations:  it  denoted  those  images  which  lie  supposed 
to  flow  from  external  objects,  and,  striking  upon  the  senses, 
excite  ideas  in  the  mind,  and  also,  those  divine  being? 
that  existed  in  the  air,  and  which  he  called  gods.  Althouoh 
Democritus  rejected  the  notion  of  Deity,  and  allowed  him 
no  share  in  the  creation  or  government  of  the  world,  he 
endeavoured  to  conceal  his  impiety,  by  admitting  the  po- 
pular belief  of  divinities  inhabiting  the  aerial  regions,  and 
teaching  that  they  make  themselves  visible  to  some  fa- 
voured mortals,  and  enable  them  to  predict  future  events. 

The  moral  doctrine  of  Democritus,  like  that  of  Epicurus, 
makes  the  enjoyment  of  a  tranquil  state  of  mind,  tbduiMOf, 
the  great  end  of  life,  and  consequently  teaches  moderation 
as  the  first  law  of  wisdom.  Moreover,  he  maintained  that 
there  is  nothing  naturally  becoming  or  base  in  human 
Actions,  but  that  every  distinction  of  this  nature  arises 
from  custom  or  civil  institutions,  and  that  laws  are  framed 
to  restrain  the  natural  propensity  of  mankind  to  injure  one 
another;  in  this  latter  respect  his  opinion  seems  to  have 
coincided  with  ihe  more  modern  doctrine  of  Hobbes.  * 

DEMOIVRE  (Abraham),  a  celebrated  mathematician, 
of  French  original,  but  who  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Eng- 
land, was  born  at  Vitri  in  Champagne  INIay  26,  1667. 
His  father  v/as  a  surgeon,  and  spared  no  pains  in  his  edu- 
cation, and  sent  him  early  to  school,  where  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  his  parents  in  1673,  a  circumstance  which  filial 
afl'ection  made  him  often  mention  with  great  pleasure. 
For  some  time  he  was  educated  under  a  popish  priest,  but 
Tvas  afterwards  sent  to  a  protestant  academy  at  Sedan, 
where  his  predilection  for  arithmetical  calculations  s» 
frequently  took  the  place  of  classical  studies,  that  his  mas- 
ter one  day  pettishly  asked,  what  the  '*  little  rogue  meant 
to  do  with  those  cyphers?"  He  afterwards  studied  at 
Saumur  and  Paris,  at  which  last  place  he  began  his  mathe- 
matics under  Ozanam.     At  length  the  revocation   of  the 

*  ■Brurkrr,  l)y  F.nfietd  — Diopenes  Laertlus. — Stanley's  Hist,  of    Phii«sopl)f . 
•r-Gen.  J^i<.'t-. — Vttssius  de  rijilusyphurum  sectis.— iiaKii  Ouoniast, 


D  E  M  O  I  V  R  E.  437 

edict  of  Nantz,  in  1 6vS5,  determined  him,  with  many  others, 
to  lake  shelter  in  England  ;  where   he  perfected   his  ma- 
thematical studies,     A  mediocrity  of  fortune  obliged  him 
to   employ   his  talent   in    this   way  in   giving  lessons,  and 
reading  public  lectures,   for  his  better  support :   in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  his  life  too,  he  chiefly  subsisted  by  giving  an- 
swers to  questions  in  chances,   play,   annuities,   is:c.   and  ic 
is  said  many  of  these  responses  were  delivered  at  a  coffee- 
house in   St.  Martin's-lane,   where  he   spent   much  of  his 
time.     The  "  Principia  Mathematica"  of  Newton,   which 
chance  is  said  to  have  thrown   in   his  way,   soon  convinced 
Demoivrc  how  little  he  had  advanced  in  the  science  he 
professed.     This  induced  hitn  to  redouble  his  application  ; 
which  was  attended  by  a  considerable  degree  of  success  ; 
and  he  soon  became  connected  with,  and  celebrated  anion"-, 
the  first-rate  mathematicians.      His  eminence  and  abilities 
in  this  science  opened   him  an  entrance  into  the  royal  so- 
ciety of  London,  and  into  the  academies  of  Berlin   and 
Paris.     By  the  former  his  merit  was  so  well  known  and 
esteemed,  that  they  judged  him  a  fit  person  to  decide  the 
famous  contest  between  Newton  and  Leibnitz,  concerning- 
the  invention  of  Fluxions. 

The  collection  of  the  academy  of  Paris  contains  no  pa- 
pers of  this  author,  who  died  at  London,  Nov.  27,  1754, 
at  eighty-seven  years  of  age,  soon  after  his  admission  into 
it ;  an  iionour  which  he  said  he  considered  as  equivalent  to 
lettres  de  noblesse.  But  the  Philosophical  Transactions 
of  London  have  several,  and  all  of  them  interesting,  viz. 
in  the  volumes  19,20,22,  23,  25,27,  29,  30,  32,  40,  41,  43. 
His  separate  publications  are:  1.  "  Miscellanea  Analvtica, 
tie  Seriebus  &  Quadraturis,  &c."  1730,  -J  to.  But  i)erhaps 
he  has  been  more  generally  known  by  his  2.  "  Doctrine 
of  Chances;  or  Method  of  calculating  the  Probabilities  of 
Events  at  Play."  This  work  was  first  printed  1718,  in  4to, 
and  dedicated  to  sir  Isaac  Newton  ;  it  was  reprinted  in 
1738,  with  great  alterations  and  improvements;  and  a 
third  edition  was  afterwards  printed.  3.  "  Annuities  on 
Lives,"  first  printed  1724,  in  8vo.  In  1742  the  inoe- 
nious  Thomas  Simpson  (then  only  thirty-three  years  of 
age)  published  his  "  Doctrine  of  Annuities  and  Keverr 
sions,"  in  which  he  paid  some  handsome  compliments  to 
our  author.  Notwithstanding  which,  Demoivre  presently 
brought  out  a  second  edition  of  his  Annuities,  in  the  pre- 
face to  which  he  passed  some  harsh  reflections  upon  feimu-. 


43S  D  E  M  O  I  V  R  E. 

son.  To  these  the  latter  gave  a  handsome  and  effectual 
answer,  1743,  in  "  An  Appendix,  containing  some  Re- 
marks on  a  Ikt  book  on  the  same  subject,  with  answers  to 
some  personal  and  malignant  misrepresentations  in  the 
preface  thereof."  At  the  end  of  tiiis  answer,  Mr.  Simpson 
concludes,  "  Lastly,  I  appeal  to  all  mankind,  whether,  in 
his  treatment  of  me,  he  has  not  discovered  an  air  of  self- 
sufficiency,  ill-nature,  and  inveteracy,  unbecoming  a  gen- 
tleman." Here  it  would  seem  the  controversy  dropped: 
Mr.  Demoivre  published  the  third  edition  of  his  book  in 
1750,  without  any  farther  notice  ol  Simpson,  but  omitted 
the  offensive  reflections  that  had  been  in  the  pr  face.  * 

DEMONAX,  a  Cynic  philosopher,  who  flourished 
during  the  reign  of  Adrian,  in  the  second  century,  was 
a  native  of  Cyprus,  and  descended  from  a  family  of  wealth 
and  high  rank  ;  but  preferring  a  life  of  philosophic  study 
to  the  emploj'iiients  which  his  birth  and  fortune  might  have 
commanded,  he  removed  to  Athens  while  he  was  young, 
and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  In  his  manners 
and  habits,  he  was  in  some  respects  the  imitator  of  Dio- 
genes, and  hence  he  obtained  a  rank  among  the  Cynics, 
though  he  never  professed  himself  to  be  of  any  sect.  From 
them  all  he  selected  what  was  excellent,  and  most  favour- 
able to  moral  wisdom  ;  and  like  Socrates,  he  endeavoured 
to  make  philosophy  not  a  speculative  science,  but  the  rule 
.of  life  and  manners.  He  was  virtuous  without  ostentation, 
and  was  able  to  reprove  vice  without  acrimony,  and  with 
the  happiest  effect.  So  high  was  his  reputation,  that  the 
greatest  deference  was  paid  to  his  opinion  in  the  assem- 
blies of  the  Athenian  people.  After  his  death,  which  was 
not  till  he  had  attained  the  age  of  an  hundred,  he  was  ho- 
noured with  a  public  funeral,  attended  with  a  numerous 
train  of  philosophers,  and  others  who  lamented  the  loss  of 
so  estimable  a  character.  Lucian,  from  whom  alone  we 
have  any  account  of  Demonax,  furnishes  also  the  following 
anecdotes.  Soon  after  Demonax  came  to  Athens,  a  public 
charge  was  brought  against  him  for  neglecting  to  offer  sa- 
crifice to  Minerva,  and  to  be  initiated  into  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries.  Appearing  before  the  assembly  in  a  white  gar- 
ment, he  pleaded  that  Minerva  did  not  stand  in  need  of 
his  offerings  ;  and  that  he  declined  initiation  into  the  mysr 

^  Hutton's  Dictionary. — Memoire  sur  la  Vie  de  M.  Abraham  de  Moivre,  by 
JVIaty,  Hague,  12mo. 


D  E  M  O  N  A  X.  43« 

terics,  because,  if  they  were  bad,  he  ought  not  to  conceal 
them  ;  aiul  if  they  were  good,  his  love  to  mankind  would 
oblige  him  to  disclose  them  :  upon  which  he  was  acquitted. 
One  of  his  companions  proposing  to  go  to  the  temple  of 
Esculapius,  to  pray  for  the  recovery  of  his  son  from  sick- 
ness, Deraonax  said  :  "  Do  you  suppose  that  Esculapius 
cannot  hear  you  as  well  from  this  place  r"  Hearing  two  igno- 
rant pretenders  to  philosophy  conversing,  and  remarking 
that  the  one  asked  foolish  questions,  and  the  other  made  re- 
plies which  were  nothing  to  the  purpose,  he  said,  "  One 
of  these  men  is  milking  a  he-goat,  while  the  other  is  holding 
a  sieve  under  him."  Advising  a  certain  rhetorician,  who 
was  a  wretched  declaimer,  to  perform  frequent  exercises, 
the  rhetorician  answered,  "  I  frequently  practise  by  my- 
self." '*  No  wonder,"  replied  Demonax,  "  that  you  are 
so  bad  a  speaker,  when  you  practise  before  so  foolish  an 
audience."  Seeing  a  Spartan  beating  his  servant  unmer- 
cifully, he  said  to  him,  "  Why  do  you  thus  put  yourself 
upon  a  level  with  your  slave  ?"  When  Demonax  was  in- 
formed that  the  Athenians  had  thoughts  of  erecting  an 
amphitheatre  for  gladiators,  in  imitation  of  the  Corinthians, 
he  went  into  the  assembly,  and  cried  out,  "  Athenians, 
before  you  make  this  resolution,  go  and  pull  down  the 
altar  of  mercy."' 

DEMOSTHENES,  one  of  the  greatest  orators  of  an- 
tiquity, was  born  at  Athens,  in  the  second  year  of  the 
101st  olympiad  ;  or  about  370  years  before  Christ.  He 
was  first  placed  under  Plato  and  Euclid  of  Megara  to  study 
philosophy;  but,  observing  with  what  applause  Callistratus 
pleaded  before  the  people,  he  applied  to  the  study  of  ora- 
tory, under  Isocrates  and  Isa;us.  He  was  left  fatherless 
when  very  young,  and  much  neglected  and  defrauded  by 
his  guardians ;  on  which  account  he  pleaded  against  them 
at  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  with  so  much  success,  that 
they  were  condemned  to  pay  him  30  talents ;  but,  it  is 
said,  he  forgave  them.  This  was  the  first  time  that  he  dis- 
tinguished  himself  by  his  eloquence,  which  at  length  he 
improved  to  such  perfection,  that  Philip  said  "  it  was  of 
more  weight  against  him,  than  all  the  fleets  and  armies  of 
the  Athenians;"  and  that  "  he  had  no  enemy  but  Demo- 
sthenes ,"  and  Demetrius  Phalereus  and  Eratosthenes  said, 
^'  he  actually  appeared  like  one  inspired."     He  could  pre- 

'  Brucker, — Moreri. 


440  DEMOSTHENES. 

sent  an  object  in  any  light  he  pleased,  and  give  it  what- 
ever colouring  best  answered  his  purpose ;  and  where  he 
found  it  difficult  to  convince  the  judgment,  he  knew  how 
to  seduce  the  imagination.  He  was  not  perhaps  so  universal 
an  orator  as  Cicero,  not  so  powerful  in  panegyric,  nor  had 
he  his  turn  for  raillery  ;  and  Longinus  says,  whenever  he 
attempted  to  jest,  the  laugh  was  sure  to  turn  upon  himself. 
But  then  he  had  a  force  of  oratory,  which,  as  Longinus 
observes,  bore  down,  like  a  torrent,  all  before  it.  He 
opposed  Philip  of  Macedon  with  his  full  strength,  and 
Alexander  after  him.  Alexander  requested  of  the  Athe- 
nians to  have  Demosthenes  given  up  to  him,  but  this  was 
refused;  yet  when  Antipater  his  successor  made  the  tame 
request  afterwards,  after  his  victor}-,  these  same  Athenians, 
as  the  price  of  their  pardon,  were  obliged  to  sacrifice  De- 
mosthenes and  the  orators  of  the  same  party.  On  the  mo- 
tion of  Demades,  a  decree  having  passed  condemnincr 
them  to  death,  Demosthenes  took  sanctuary  in  the  temple 
of  Neptune  at  Calauria,  but  apprehending  that  attempts 
would  be  made  to  seize  bin),  he  provided  himself  with 
poison  ;  and  when  taken  by  an  emissary  of  Antipater,  he 
retired  to  the  interior  part  of  the  temple,  and  swallowed 
the  dose.  Immediatelv  turning  to  Archias,  the  messeno-er 
of  Antipater,  who  had  been  a  player,  he  said,  "  Now  you 
may  perform  the  part  of  Creon  as  soon  as  you  please,  and 
cast  out  this  carcase  unburied,"  Then  turning  to  the  altar, 
he  exclaimed,  *' O  gracious  Neptune!  I  depart  alive  from 
thy  temple  without  profaning  it,  which  the  Macedonians 
would  have  done  by  my  murder."  Staggering  as  he  at- 
tempted to  retire,  he  fell  by  the  altar,  and  expired  at  the 
age  of  fifty-nine,  in  the  year  B.  C.  322.  The  Athenians 
not  long  after,  erected  his  statue  in  brass,  and  decreed 
that  the  eldest  of  his  family  should  be  maintained  at  the 
public  expence. 

Although  the  regard  that  has  been  paid  to  the  memory 
of  Demosthenes  has  chiefly  been  on  account  of  his  elo- 
quence, he  was  likewise  a  very  able  statesman,  and  a  pa- 
triot ;  and,  from  the  accounts  we  have  of  the  embassies 
and  expeditions,  the  treaties  and  alliances,  and  other  va- 
rious negotiations  in  which  he  was  employed,  together  with 
the  zeal  and  integrity  with  which  he  acted  in  them,  we 
may  conclude  that  he  excelled  as  much  in  those  capacities, 
as  in  that  of  an  orator;  though  it  must  be  confessed  that 
his  eloquence  was   the   foundation   of  Jiis  advancement  in 


D  E  M  O  S  T  II  E  N  E  S.  441 

other  respects.  But  though  he  arrived  to  such  perfection 
in  this  art,  he  set  out  under  great  disaclvautages  ;  iiaviui^ 
an  impediment  in  his  speech,  whicli  lor  a  long  time  would 
not  suffer  liiu)  to  pronounce  the  letter  II.  He  had  likewise 
a  weak  voice,  a  short  l)reaih,  and  a  very  unco.ith  and  un- 
gracious manner,  yet  by  dint  of  rcsoUition  and  infmite 
pains,  he  overcame  all  these  defects.  He  accustomed 
himself  to  clinjb  up  steep  and  craggy  places  to  facilitate 
his  hreatliing,  and  stren^;il)en  his  voice  ;  he  declaimed  with 
pebbles  in  his  mouth,  to  remedy  the  im|jerfeetion  in  his 
speech  ;  lie  placed  a  looking-glass  before  him,  to  correct 
tbe  awkwardness  of  his  gesture  ;  and  he  learned  of  the  best 
players  the  proper  graces  of  action  and  pronunciation, 
which  he  thought  of  so  much  consequence,  that  he  made 
the  whole  art  of  oratory  in  a  manner  to  consist  of  them. 
But  whatever  stress  he  laid  upon  tbe  exterior  part  of  speak- 
ing, he  was  also  very  careful  about  the  matter  and  the 
style,  the  latter  of  which  he  formed  upon  the  model  of 
Thucydides,  whose  history,  for  that  purpose,  he  tran- 
scribed eight  several  times.  He  was  so  intent  upon  his 
study,  that  he  would  often  retire  into  a  cave  of  the  earth, 
and  shave  half  his  head,  so  that  he  could  not  with  decency 
appear  abroad  till  iiis  hair  was  grown  again.  He  also  ac- 
customed himself  to  harangue  at  the  sea-shore,  where  the 
acfitation  of  the  waves  formed  to  him  an  idea  of  the  com- 
njotions  in  a  popular  assembly,  and  served  to  prepare  and 
fortify  him  against  them.  From  this  strict  discipline,  which 
he  imposed  upon  himself,  he  became  an  instance  how  far 
parts  and  ajoplication  may  go  towards  perfection  in  any 
profession,  notwithstanding  the  strongest  natural  impedi- 
ments. 

With  respect  to  his  character  as  a  man  of  intesrrity  and 
a  patriot,  Philip  was  not  wanting  in  endeavours  to  corrupt 
him,  as  lie  had  endeavoured  to  corrupt,  and  with  success, 
most  of  the  other  leading  men  in  Greece ;  but  Demo- 
sthenes withstood  all  his  offers  ;  and  Plutarch  says,  that  all 
the  gold  of  Macedonia  could  not  bribe  him.  And  vet,  as 
iiirtexible  as  he  was  to  Philip,  he  became  more  pliable  in 
the  reign  of  his  successor,  and  gave  occasion  to  his  enemies 
to  accuse  him  of  bribery  ;  for  which  he  was  hned  and  im- 
prisoned, and  afterwards  banished  ;  but  the  charge  has  by 
some  been  tiiouiiht  ixroundless  and  malicious,- anci  the  ra- 
ther  because  he  was  not  allowed  to  justify  himself.  Tiiat 
accomplished   scholar  and  lawyer,   Mr.  Charles  Yorkc,  is 


443  DEMOSTHENES. 

said  to  have  written  a  dissertation  upon  this  subject,  in 
which  all  the  evidence  supplied  by  the  writers  of  antiquity 
is  carefully  collected,  and  judiciously  examined,  and  in 
which  Mr.  Yorke's  decision  is  in  favour  of  Demosthenes. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  curious  dissertation  is  still 
allowed  to  remain  unpublished.  Another  circumstance  in 
the  character  of  Demosthenes  is  more  singular.  He  who 
with  such  constancy  and  intrepidity  opposed  all  the  mea- 
sures of  the  foreign  and  domestic  enemies  of  his  country, 
and  who  so  often  at  the  hazard  of  his  life  braved  the  mad- 
ness of  the  people  in  their  assemblies,  was  yet  unable  to 
stand  an  enemy  in  the  field.  He  chose,  says  Plutarch, 
to  swear  by  those  who  fell  at  Marathon,  though  he  could 
not  follow  their  example;  yet  he  afterwards  refused  life  when 
it  was  offered  him,  and  died  with  great  fortitude.  With  all 
this  mixture  of  character,  however,  Demosthenes  did  more 
service  to  the  state  than  any  of  his  contemporaries,  and  was 
the  chief  bulwark,  not  only  of  Athens,  but  of  Greece  in 
general,  and  almost  the  onl}^  obstacle  to  Philip's  designs 
of  enslaving  it. 

In  his  Olynthiacs  and  Philippics,  which  are  his  capital 
orations,  he  had  a  fine  field  for  the  display  of  his  talents, 
the  object  he  had  in  view  being  to  excite  the  indignation 
of  his  countrymen  against  Philip,  and  to  guard  them  against 
the  insidious  measures  by  which  that  crafty  prince  en- 
deavoured to  lull  them  into  security.  In  the  prosecution 
of  this,  he  adopts  every  proper  method  for  animating  a 
people  once  renowned  for  justice,  humanity,  and  valour, 
but  in  many  instances  now  become  corrupt  and  degene- 
rate. He  boldly  taxes  them  with  their  venality,  indolence, 
and  indifference  to  the  public  cause;  whilst  with  consum- 
mate art,  he  calls  to  their  remembrance  the  glory  of  their 
ancestors,  and  leads  them  to  consider  that  they  were  still 
a  flourishing  and  powerful  people,  the  natural  protectors 
of  the  liberty  of  Greece,  and  that  they  on!}'  wanted  the 
inclination  to  exert  themselves,  in  order  to  make  Philip 
tremble.  With  his  contemporary  orators,  who  were  in  the 
interest  of  Philip,  or  who  persuaded  the  people  to  peace, 
he  keeps  no  measures,  but  reproaches  them  as  the  betrayers 
of  their  counir}'.  Phocion  was  of  this  number;  he  on  all 
occasions  opposed  the  violence  of  the  people;  and  when 
Demosthenes  once  told  him  that  the  Athenians  would  some 
day  murder  him  in  a  mad  tit,  he  answered,  "  And  you 
too,  perhaps,  in  a  sober  fit."     These  orations  are  strongly 


DEMOSTHENES.  443 

animated,  and  abounding  with  the  impetuosity  and  fire  of 
public  spirit.  The  figures  which  he  uses  rise  naturally 
from  the  subject,  and  are  employed  sparingly,  for  splen- 
dour and  ornament  do  not  distinguish  the  compositions  of 
Demosthenes.  His  character,  as  an  orator,  depends  upon 
an  energy  of  thought  peculiar  to  himself,  whicli  elevates 
him  above  all  others.  Things,  and  not  words,  appear  to 
be  the  objects  of  his  attention.  He  has  no  parade  and 
ostentation  ;  no  methods  of  insinuation  ;  no  laboured  in- 
troductions ;  but  like  a  man  fully  possessed  by  his  subject, 
after  preparing  his  audience  by  a  sentence  or  two  for  hear- 
ing plain  truths,  he  enters  directly  on  business,  warming 
the  mind,  and  impelling  to  action. 

His  style,  says  Dr.  Blair,  whom  we  have  already  partly 
followed,   "  is  strong   and   concise,   though  sometimes,   it 
must  not  be  dissembled,  harsh  and  abrupt.      His  words  are 
very  expressive ;   his  arrangement  is  firm  and   manly;  and 
though  far  from  being  unmusical,  yet  it  seems  difficult  to 
find  in  him  that  studied  but  concealed  number  and  rhyth- 
mus,  which  some  of  the  ancient  critics  are   fond  of  attri- 
buting to  him.  Negligent  of  these  lesser  graces,  one  would 
rather  conceive  him  to  have  aimed  at  tiiat  sublime  which 
lies  in  sentiment.     His  action   and   pronunciation  are   re- 
corded to  have  been  uncommonly  vehement  and  ardent : 
which,  from  the  manner  of  his  composition,  we  are  led  to 
believe.      The  character  which  one  forms    of  him,  from 
reading  his  works,  is  of  the  austere,  ratlier  than  the  gentle 
kind.      He  is,  on  every  occasion,  grave,  serious,  passionate, 
taking  every  thing  in  a  high  tone  ;  never  lets  himself  down, 
nor  attempts  any  thing  like  pleasantry.      If  any  fault  can 
be  found  with  his  admirable  eloquence,  it  is  that  he  some- 
times borders  on  the  hard  and  dry.      He   may  be   thought 
to  want  smoothness  and  grace ;  which   Dionysius  of  Hali- 
carnassus  attributes  to  his  imitating  too  closely  the  manner 
of  Thucydides,  who  was  his  great  model  for  style.      But 
these  defects  are  far  more  than  compensated,  by  that  admi- 
rable and    masterly  force  of  masculine  eloquence,  which, 
as  it  overpowered  all  who  heard  it,  cannot,  at  this  day,  be 
read    without   emotion."      However  just  this    remark,  it 
must    be    received    with   some    limitation.     No    modern 
reader,  and  no  modern  nation  can  now  he  so  affected  with 
mere  eloquence  as   to  be  sensible  of  the  effects  produced 
by  that  of  Demosthenes,   which  after  all,   like  the  merits  of 
.a  great  player,    must  rest  principally  on  historical  evi* 


444  DEMOSTHENES. 

dence.  Demosthenes  is  said  to  have  composed  sixty-five 
orations,  of  vvhicli  a  small  proportion  has  reached  our  times; 
nor  has  he  heen  so  fortunate  in  his  editors  as  the  majority 
of  the  classic  writers.  The  l)est  editions  are  those  of 
Wolfins,  Francfort,  1604,  folio;  of  Taylor,  vols.  II.  and 
III.  Camhridge,  17  48 — 51,  4to;  the  first  volume  never 
appeared  ;  and  of  Reiske,  Leipsic,  1770,  12  vols.  8vo. 
1  he  best  Jinglish  translations  are  those  of  Dr.  Leland  and 
Mr.  Francis. ' 

DEMOURS  (Peter),  a  French  physician,  but  better 
known  as  an  oculist,  was  born  in  1702,  and  was  the  son  of 
^\nthony  Demours,  an  apothecary  at  Marseilles,  under 
whom  he  received  the  early  part  of  his  education,  which 
was  continued  at  Avignon,  where  he  resided,  until  he  had 
taken  the  degree  of  doctor,  in  1728.  He  then  removed  to 
Paris,  and  was  placed  for  two  years  under  M.  Du  Verney, 
for  the  study  of  anatomy.  On  the  death  of  Du  Verney,  he 
was  associated  with  M.  Chirac  in  the  care  of  the  cabinet  of 
natural  history,  in  the  royal  garden  at  Paris.  Having  be- 
stowed much  attention  and  many  experiments  on  the  struc- 
ture of  the  eye,  in  1741  he  sent  to  the  royal  academy  of 
sciences  a  memoir  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  shews  that 
the  vitreous  humour  is  of  a  cellular  texture,  and  that  the 
cells  comnmnicate  with  each  other,  circumstances  which 
liad  not  been  before  observed.  He  now  employed  himself, 
almost  exclusively,  in  attending  to  the  diseases  of  the  eye, 
and  soon  attracted  so  much  notice  as  to  be  appointed 
oculist  to  the  king.  In  llf)7,  he  published  "  Lettre  a 
M.  Petjt,"  on  the  subject  of  a  disease  in  the  eyes,  oc- 
curring in  a  patient  who  had  been  inoculated  with  the 
small-pox.  As  he  had  acquired  a  competent  knowledge  of 
the  English  language,  he  translated  into  French  the  Edin- 
burgh medical  essays,  which  he  published  at  Paris,  in 
eleven  volumes,  12mo,  Baker's  Natural  History  of  the 
Polypus,  Hales's  account  of  a  Ventilator,  Ranby's  treatise 
of  Gunshot  Wounds,  and  several  volumes  of  essays  on 
medicine,  and  on  natural  history,  taken  from  the  Philoso- 
})hical  Transactions,  which  procured  him  to  be  elected  one 
of  the  foreign  members  of  the  royal  society.  He  had  been 
before  associated  with  the  royal  ncademy  of  sciences  at 
Paris.     Demours  died  June  26,  1795,  aged  ninety-three.  * 

DEMOUSTIER.     See  DESMOUSTIFR. 

>  Plutarch  in  vit,    Dtmost.—Gen.  Dift— Klair's  Lrcturps.— Beloe's  Herodo- 
tus.—Saxii  Onomast.  ^  Diot.  Hist. — Rces's  Cyclopedia. 


DEMPSTER.  445 

DEMPSTKR  (Thomas),  a  man  of  considerable  learning 
and  singular  character,  was  burn  in  Scotland  in  1379.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  descended  from  a  noble  family,  and 
was  instructed  in  grammar  learning  at  Aberdeen ;  but 
being  obliged  at  an  early  age  to  leave  Scotland,  on  account 
of  the  commotions  that  then  prevailed  in  that  country,  he 
went  into  Kniriand,  where  he  studied  for  some  time  at 
Pembroke-hall  in  Cambridge.  From  thence  he  went  to 
France,  where  he  gave  out,  that  he  had  left  great  estates 
in  his  own  country,  on  account  of  his  attachment  to  the 
Roman  catholic  relioion.  He  also  assumed  the  title  of 
Baron  of  Muresk,  which  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the 
titles  of  his  father;  but  the  low  state  of  his  finances  ob- 
liged him  to  undertake  to  teach  classical  literature  at  Paris. 
In  that  city  he  also  published,  in  1613,  in  one  volume,  fol. 
*'  Antiquitatum  Romanarum  corpus  absolutissimum,  in  quo 
prffiter  ea  quaj  Joannes  Rosinus  delineaverat,  intinita  sup- 
plentur,  mutantur,  adduntur,  ex  criiicis,  et  omnibus  utrius- 
que  linguae  auctoribus  collectum  :  poetis,  oratoribus,  his- 
toricis,  jurisconsultis,  qui  laudati,  explicati,  correctique." 

But  during  his  stay  at  Paris,  Dempster  did  not  wholly 
spend  his  time  in  his  studies,  or  in  the  business  of  educa- 
tion. "  He  was  as  quick,"  we  are  told,  "  at  drawing  his 
sword,  and  as  quarrelsome,  as  a  professed  duellist.  He 
either  fought  with  a  sword,  or  boxed  almost  every  day  ; 
so  that  he  was  the  terror  of  all  schoolmasters."  As  a 
teacher,  he  appears  to  have  been  a  rigid  disciplinarian  ; 
and  one  spirited  exertion  of  his  authority  in  that  capacity, 
in  the  college  of  Beauvais*,  produced  such  consequences, 
as  obliged  liim  for  a  time  to  quit  Paris.  He  then  went  to 
Fhigland,  where  he  found  not  only  a  place  of  refuge,  but 
also  a  very  handsome  wife,  whom  he  afterwards  carried 
back  with  him  to  Paris.     Besides  teaching  in  that  city,  it 

*  Of  this  we  have  the  following  ac-  the  college-gate,  ami  put  himself  into 

«ount  :   "  Gfaiigier,  principal    of  that  such    a    posture  of  defence,   ihat  the 

sollege,  beins;  obliged  to  go  a  journey,  three  mililaiy  men  were  forced  to  asi-; 

appointed     Dempster    liis    substitute.  for  quarter.      He   granted   them   their 

The  latter  exercised  justice  on  a  scho-  lives,    but    imprisoned    them     in    the 

lar  who   had    challenged    one   of    his  belfry,  and    did  not  release  them  till 

schoolfellows  to  fight  a  duel,  by  whip-  some  duys  after.     They  went,  another 

ping  him  in  a  full  school.     The  scho-  way    to     revenge     themselvi-^ :     ihey 

lar,    to    revenge   his  affront,    brought  caused    an     infomialien    to    be    laid 

three  gentlemen  of  his   relations,  who  against  Di-mpster,  concerning  bis   life 

were  of  the  king's  life  guards,   into  the  and  manners,  and  got  some   witnesses 

college.      Dtmpster    made   the   whole  to  be  heard  against  dim  :  which  ob- 

college  take  up  arm?,  ham-strung  the  ligcd  him  to  go  over  into  England." 
tbree    Ijfe-gujirdmen's    borses    before 


446  DEMPSTER. 

appears  that  he  also  disputed  for  a  professor's  chair  at  the 
academy  of  Nisines,  and  carried  it  with  great  applause 
against  many  competitors.  From  France  he  went  into 
Italy,  and  taught  philological  learning  in  the  university  of 
Pisu,  where  he  had  good  appointments.  Returning  one 
day  from  the  college,  he  found  that  his  wife  had  been 
stolen  away,  his  own  scholars  having  assisted  in  the  elope- 
meiit.  "  He  bore  his  loss,"  says  Bayle,  "like  a  sioic ; 
and,  perhaps,  was  not  sorry  to  be  delivered  from  a  trea- 
sure that  lie  had  found  so  difficult  to  keep."  From  Pisa  he 
removed  to  Bologna,  and  was  appointed  professor  in  the 
■university  of  that  city,  in  which  situation  he  continued  till 
his  death.  He  was  also  admitted  into  the  academy  Delia 
notfe. 

In  1622,  he  published  at  Bologna,  in  8vo,  "  Kspayvof  xat 
tStMg  in  Glossas  Lib.  IV.  Institut.  Justiniani,"  &c. ;  and  the 
following  year  he  published,  in  8vo,  "  De  Juramento, 
Lib.  HI.  Locus  et  Antiq.  Rom.  retractatus,"  &c.  He  died 
at  Bolosrna  in  1625. 

Dempster  was  in  his  person  a  very  tall,  stout,  and  well- 
made  man,  and  possessed  great  personal  courage.  He 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  warm  passions,  a  zealous 
friend,  and  a  violent  enemy.  His  literary  acquisitions  were 
very  considerable,  as  is  manifest  from  his  works ;  and  it  is 
said,  that  he  was  accustomed  to  study  fourteen  hours  a  day 
without  intermission.  His  memory  was  uncommonly  te- 
nacious, so  that  he  said  of  himself,  that  he  knew  not  what 
it  was  to  forget ;  and  he  was  sometimes  styled  a  speaking 
library;  but  his  judgment  was  by  no  means  equal  to  his 
erudition.  Archbishop  Usher  says  of  him,  that  he  was 
"  homo  niultae  lectionis,  sed  nullius  plane  judicii,"  but 
Vossius  styles  him,  "  eruditus  Scotus,  beneque  de  Uteris 
meritus." 

Two  years  after  Dempster's  death,  was  published  at 
Bologna,  in  1627,  in  one  volume  4to,  from  his  manuscript, 
*'  Historia  Ecclesiastica  Gentis  Scotorum,  Lib.  XIX."  This 
work  contains  a  very  long  list  of  Scottish  saints,  and  ac- 
counts of  some  literary  men  ;  and,  at  the  end  of  the  book, 
a  few  particulars  concerning  Dempster  himself  were  added 
by  Matthteus  Peregrinus.  But  the  disregard  to  truth 
which  Dempster  has  displayed  in  this  work,  has  justly  ex- 
posed him  to  the  censure  of  many  writers,  particularly 
Baillet,  who  says,  "  Thomas  Dempster  has  given  us  aii 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  in  nineteen  books,  in 


DEMPSTER.  447 

which  he  speaks  very  much  of  the  learned  men  of  that 
country.  But  though  he  was  in  some  respects  an  ai)le 
man,  he  did  not  possess  sound  sense,  or  a  solid  judgment, 
nor  was  he  very  conscientious.  He  would  have  wished 
that  ail  learned  men  had  been  Scotclmien.  He  forged  the 
titles  of  books  that  never  appeared  in  the  world,  in  order 
to  raise  the  glory  of  his  country  ;  and  he  comjnitted  several 
literary  frauds,  which  have  discrediied  him  among  men  of 
learning."  Bishop  Nicolson  says  that  *'  Dempster  reckons 
a  great  many  writers  of  Scottisli  history,  who  are  allowed 
to  be  counterfeits."  And  sir  James  Ware  remarks,  that 
*'  Dempster,  in  his  Catalogue  of  Scotch  Authors,  has  not 
only  inserted  those  of  England  and  Wales,  at  his  owa 
pleasure;  but,  to  prove  his  assertions,  has  also  frequently 
quoted  imaginary  authors,  and  fictitious  treatises,  times, 
and  places."  Archbishop  Usher  I'epeatedly  censures  Demp- 
ster for  his  inventions  and  his  falsehoods ;  and  in  one  place 
speaks  of  it  as  being  a  practice  of  Dempster's,  to  enu- 
merate books  which  were  never  written,  and  that  had  no 
existence  but  in  his  own  idle  brain.  Cave  also  speaks  of 
Dempster  with  great  contempt,  on  account  of  his  fictions 
with  respect  to  Scottish  authors.  Indeed,  Dempster  seems 
to  have  thought  it  highly  meritorious  to  advance  the  grossest 
falsehoods,  if  those  falsehoods  would,  in  any  degree,  con- 
tribute to  the  honour  of  his  country. 

He  also  published  in  his  own  life-time  the  following' 
pieces:  "  Strena  Kal.  Januar.  1616,  ad  illustriss.  virum  Ja- 
cobum  Hayum,  Dominum  ac  Baronem  de  Saley,"  &.c.  Lond,. 
1616,  4to.  "  Menologium  Scotorum,  in  quo  nullus  nisi 
Scotus  gente  aut  conversatione,  quod  ex  omnium  gentium 
monimentis,  pio  studio  Dei  glorise.  Sanctorum  honori. 
Patriae  ornamento,"  &c.  Bonon.  1622,  4to.  "Scotia  il- 
lustrior,  sen,  Mendicabula  repressa,"  Lugd.  1620,  8vo. 
He  is  likewise  said  to  have  been  the  author  of  four  books 
of  epistles,  of  some  tragedies  and  tragi-comedies,  of  four- 
teen books  of  different  kinds  of  poetry,  and  of  various 
pieces.  Notwithstanding  his  attachment  to  the  Romish 
religion,  some  of  his  books  were  condemned  by  the  inqui- 
sition. A  very  elaborate  and  learned  work  of  Dempster 
was  elegantly  printed  at  Florence,  with  many  copper- 
plates, in  two  volumes,  folio,  in  1723  and  1724,  under  the 
care  of  Thomas  Coke,  esq.  (afterwards  earl  of  Leicester,) 
at  the  expence  of  Cosmo  HI.  and  John  Gasto,  dukes  of 
Tuscany,  to  which  the  following  title  was  prefixed  :  ''  Tho- 


448  DEMPSTER. 

niJE  Dempsteri  a  Miiresk  Scoti  Paiulectarnm  in  Pisano 
Lyceo  protessoris  ordinarii  de  Etruria  regali  libri  Septem, 
opus  postumum,  in  duas  partes  divisum."  We  are  told 
in  the  preface,  that  when  Dempster,  in  IG 19,  was  about 
to  remove  to  Bologna,  he  left  this  work  in  the  hands  of 
the  grand  duke,  by  whose  order  it  had  been  composed, 
although  he  had  not  quite  ilnished  it.  It  is  divided  into 
seven  books,  treating:  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Etruria, 
their  kings,  their  inventions)  geography,  ancient  and  mo- 
.  dern,  &c.  with  a  short  history  of  the  house  of  Medici.  The 
ancient  monuments  which  are  given  on  ninety-three  en- 
gravings, are  illustrated  by  some  explanations  and  con- 
jectures by  M.  Bonarota.  Upon  the  whole,  this  splendid 
publication  appears  to  be  the  best  of  Dempster's  produc- 
tions, and  affords  a  very  high  idea  of  his  abilities  as  a 
classical  antiquary.  One  of  his  dissertations  on  the  Ro- 
man Kalendar  is  inserted  in  Grcevius's  Roman  Antiquities, 
vol.  VII  I.  Passeri  published  a  Supplement  to  his  History  of 
Etruria,  in  1767,  fol.  and  an  edition  of  his  Roman  Anti- 
tiquities,  much  enlarged.  * 

DENHAM  (Sir  John),  an  eminent  English  poet,  the 
only  son  of  sir  John  Denham,  kiit.  of  Little  Horseley  in 
Essex,  by  Eleanor,  daughter  of  sir  Garret  More,  knt.  ba- 
ron of  Mellefont  in  Ireland,  was  born  at  Dublin  in  16  15, 
his  father  having  been  some  time  before  chief  baron  of  the 
exchequer  in  Ireland,  and  one  of  the  lords  commissioners 
of  that  kingdom  ;  but,  upon  his  being  made,  in  1617,  one 
of  the  barons  of  the  exchequer  in  England,  he  was  brought 
by  him  to  London,  and  educated  there  in  school-learning. 
In  1631  he  was  entered  a  gentleman-commoner  of  Trinity- 
college  in  Oxford  ;  "  but  being  looked  upon,"  says  Wood, 
*'  as  a  slow  and  dreaming  young  man  by  his  senioi's  and 
contemporaries,  and  given  more  to  cards  and  dice  than  his 
study,  they  could  never  then  in  the  least  imagine  that  he 
could  ever  enrich  the  world  with  his  fancy,  or  issue  of  his 
brain,  as  he  afterwards  did."  When  he  had  continued 
there  three  years,  and  undergone  a  public  examination  for 
his  degree  of  B.  A.  he  went  to  Lincoln's  Inn  with  a  view  of 
studying  the  law  ;  but  his  love  of  gaming  continuing,  he 
squandered  away  all  the  money  he  could  get.  His  lather 
being  informed  of  this,  and  threatening  to  disinherit  him  if 

1  Biog.  Brit. — Gen.  Diet. — Niceron,  vol.  XXXVIII.  where  there  is  a  very 
correct  list  of  his  works. — Blount's  Censura. — Bailltt  Jugemens  de  Savans. — 
lirythrscl  Pitiacolheca. 


D  E  N  H  A  At.  44» 

he  did  not  reform,  he  wrote  a  little  "  Essay  upon  Gaming," 
which  he  presented  to  his  father,  in  order  to  shew  hira 
what  an  abliorrence  he  had  conceived  towards  it :  tliis  gen- 
tleman's death,  however,  no  sooner  happened,  in  16:^8, 
than  he  returned  to  his  former  habits,  and  presently  lost 
several  thousand  pounds. 

In  1641  he  published  his  tragedy  of  the  "Sophy;'* 
which  was  so  much  admired  by  Waller  that  he  took  occa- 
sion from  this  piece  to  say  of  the  author,  that  **  he  broke 
out  like  the  Irish  rebellion,  threescore  thousand  strong, 
when  nobody  was  aware,  or  in  the  least  suspected  it.'* 
Soon  after  he  was  pricked  high  sheriff  of  Surry,  and  made 
governor  of  Farnham-castle  for  the  king;  but,  not  being 
skilled  in  military  affairs,  he  quitted  that  post  soon  after, 
and  retired  to  his  majesty  at  Oxford.  Here,  in  164!^,  he 
published  his  "  Cooper's  Hill ;"  a  poem,  which,  Drydeii 
says,  for  majesty  of  style,  is,  and  ever  will  be,  the  standard 
of  good  writing.  Pope  has  celebrated  this  poem  very 
higiily  in  his  '*  Windsor  Forest ;"  and  indeed  it  is  thought 
so  much  superior  to  his  other  poems,  that  some  have  sus- 
pected him,  though  without  any  just  foundation,  not  to 
have  been  author  of  it.  Thus,  in  the  *'  Session  of  the 
Poets,"  printed  in  Dry  den's  Miscellanies,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing insinuation  : 

Then  in  came  Denham,  that  limping  old  bard. 

Whose  fame  on  the  Sophy  and  Cooper's  Hill  stands  j 

And  brought  many  stationers,  who  swore  very  hard. 
That  nothing  sold  better,  except  'twere  his  lands. 

But  Apollo  advLsd  him  to  write  something  more. 
To  clear  a  suspicion  which  possessed  the  court> 

That  Cooper's  Hill,  so  much  bragg'd  on  before, 
Wajj  writ  by  a  vicar,  who  had  forty  pounds  for 't. 

In  1647  he  was  entrusted  by  the  queen  with  a  message 
to  the  king,  who  was  then  in  the  hands  of  the  army,  and 
to  whom  he  got  admittance  by  the  help  of  his  acquaintance 
Hugh  Peters;  **  which  trust,"  says  he,  in  the  dedication 
of  his  poems  to  Charles  II.  "  I  performed  with  great  safety 
to  the  persons  with  whom  we  corresponded  :  but  about 
nine  months  after,  being  discovered  by  their  knowledge  of 
Mr.  Cowley's  band,  I  happily  escaped  both  for  myself  and 
them."  In  April  1648  he  conveyed  away  James  duke  of 
York  into  France,  as  Wood  says  ;  but  Clarendon  assures  us, 
that  the  duke  went  off  with  colonel  Bamfield  only,  who 
contrived  the  means  of  escape.    Not  long  after,  he  was  sent 

Vol.  XI.  G  g 


450  D  E  N  H  A  M. 

sent  ambassador  from  Charles  II.  to  the  king  of  Poland ; 
and  William  (afterwards  lord)  Crofts   was  joined  in    the 
embassy   with  him.     Among  his   poems   is  one  entitled, 
■*'  On  my  lord  Crofts's  and  my  journey  into  Poland,  from 
whence  we  brought  10,000/.  for  his  majest}!,  by  the  de- 
cimation (or  tithing)  of  his  Scottish  subjects  there."    About 
1632   he  returned   to  England;  and,  his  pateynal  estate 
"being  greatly  reduced  by  gaming  and  the  civil  wars,  he 
was  kindly    entertained   by    lord    Pembroke   at  Wilton  ; 
where,  and  sometimes  at  London,  he  continued  with  that 
nobleman    above  a  year.     At  the  restoration  he  entered 
upon  the  office  of  surveyor-general  of  all  his  majesty's 
buildings  ;  and  at  the  coronation  of  the  king,  was  created 
K.  B.     Wood  pretends,  that  Charles  I.  had  granted  our 
poet  the   reversion   of  that  place,  after   the   decease   of 
the    famous   Inigo   Jones,    who    held    it ;    but  sir  Johit 
himself,  in  the  dedication  of  his  poems,  assures  us,  that 
Charles  II,    at  his  departure  from  St.  Germain's  to  Jer- 
sey, was   pleased,   freely,   without   his  asking,   to  confer 
it  upon  him.     After  his  promotion  to  this  office,  he  gave 
over  his   poetical   lines,    and    "  made   it   his  business,'* 
he  says,  "  to  draw  such  others  as  might  be  more  service- 
able to  his  majesty,  and,  he  hoped,  more  lasting."     Upon 
some  discontent  arising  from  a  second  marriage,  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  deprived  of  his  reason.     Dr.  Johnson 
notices  a  slight  circumstance  omitted  by  other   writers, 
which  is,  that  when   our  poet  was  thus  afflicted,  Butler 
lampooned  him  for  his  lunacy.     "  I  know  not,"  adds  the 
doctor,  "  whether  the  malignant  lines  were   then   made 
public  ;  nor  what  provocation  incited  Butler  to  do  what  no 
provocation   can   excuse."     On   his   recovery,  which   was 
soon,  he  wrote  his  fine  verses  upon  the  death  of  Cowley ; 
whom  yet  he  survived  but  a  few  months ;  for  he  died  at  his 
office  near  Whitehall,  which  he  had  before  built,  March 
1668,  and  was  interred  in.  Westminster-abbey,  near  Chau- 
cer, Spenser,  and  Cowley.     Sir  John  was  an  early  member 
of  the  royal  society. 

His  works  have  been  several  times  printed  together  in 
one  volume,  under  the  title  of  "  Poems  and  translations, 
with  the  Soph.y,  a  tragedy."  The  sixth  edition  is  that  of 
1719,  and  besides  this  collection.  Wood  mentions  :  1.  "A 
Panegyric  on  his  excellency  the  lord  general  George  Monk, 
commander  in  chief,"  &c.  printed  at  London  in  1659,  and 
generally  ascribed  to  him,  though  his  name  is  not  to  it. 


D  E  N  H  A  ]\1.  451 

2.  "  A  New  Version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms."  3.  A  pro- 
logue to  his  Majesty  at  the  first  play  presented  at  the 
Cockpit  in  Whitehall,  being  part  of  tliat  noble  entertain- 
ment which  their  majesties  received  on  November  20,  16.90, 
from  his  grace  the  duke  of  Albemarle.  4.  "  The  True 
Presbyterian  without  disguise:  or,  a  character  of  a  Pres- 
byterian's ways  and  actions,"  Lond.  1680.  Our  author's 
name  is  to  this  poem  ;  but  it  was  then  questioned  by  many, 
whether  he  was  the  author  of  it.  In  1666  there  were 
printed  by  stealth,  in  8vo,  certain  poems,  entitled  "  Di- 
rections to  a  Painter,"  in  four  copies  or  parts,  each  dedi- 
cated to  Charles  II.  They  were  very  satirically  written 
against  several  persons  engaged  in  the  Dutch  war  in  1665. 
At  the  end  of  them  was  a  piece,  entitled,  "  Clarendon's 
House-warming,"  and  after  that  his  epitaph ;  both  con- 
taining bitter  reflections  on  that  excellent  nobleman.  Sir 
John  Denham's  name  is  to  these  pieces;  but  they  were 
generally  thought  to  be  written  by  the  well-known  Andrew 
Marvel :  the  printer,  however,  being  discovered,  was  sen- 
tenced to  stand  in  the  pillory  for  the  same. 

"  Denham,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "is deservedly  considered 
as  one  of  the  fathers  of  English  poetry.  Denham  and 
Waller,  according  to  Prior,  improved  our  versification, 
and  Dryden  perfected  it.  He  appears  to  have  had,  in 
common  with  almost  all  mankind,  the  ambition  of  being 
upon  proper  occasions  a  merry  fellow ;  and,  in  common 
with  most  of  them,  to  have  been  by  nature,  or  by  early 
habits,  debarred  from  it.  Nothing  is  less  exhilarating  than 
the  ludicrousness  of  Denham.  He  does  not  fail  for  want 
of  efforts :  he  is  familiar,  he  is  gross ;  but  he  is  never 
merry,  unless  the  '  Speech  agaitjst  Peace  in  the  close 
Committee'  be  excepted.  For  grave  burlesque,  however, 
his  imitation  of  Davenant  shews  him  to  have  been  well 
<i|ualified.  His  poem  on  the  death  of  Cowley  was  his 
last,  and,  among  his  shorter  works,  his  best  performance : 
the  numbers  are  musical,  and  the  thoughts  are  just, 
*  Cooper's  Hill'  is  the  work  that  confers  upon  him  thg 
rank  and  dignity  of  an  original  author.  He  seems  to  have 
been,  at  least  among  us,  the  author  of  a  species  of  com- 
position that  may  be  denominated  local  poetry,  of  which 
the  fundamental  subject  is  some  particular  landscape,  to 
be  poetically  described,  with  the  addition  of  such  embel- 
lishments as  may  be  supplied  by  historical  retrospection  or 
ii]cidei»tal  meditation.     To  trace  a  new  scheme  of  poetry 

OG  2 


452  J)  E  N  H  A  M. 

has  in  itself  a  very  high  claim  to  praise,  and  its  praise  is 
yet  more  when  it  is  apparently  copied  by  Garth  and  Pope  ; 
after  whose  names  little  will  be  gained  by  an  enumeration 
of  smaller  poets,  that  have  left  scarce  a  corner  of  the  island 
undignified   by   rhyme,  or  blank   verse.     He    appeiirs    to 
have  been  one  of  the  first  that  understood  the  necessity  of 
emancipating  translation  from  the  drudgery   of  counting 
lines  and  interpreting  single  words.      How  much  this  ser- 
vile practice  obscured  the  clearest  and   deformed  the  most 
beautiful  parts  of  the   ancient  authors,  may  be  discovered 
by  a  perusal  of  our  earlier  versions ;  some  of  them  the 
works  of  men  well  qualified  not  only  by  critical  knowledge, 
but  by  poetical  genius;  who  yet,  by  a  mistaken  ambition 
of  exactness,  degraded  at  once  their  originals  and  them- 
selves.    Denham  saw  the  better  way,   but  has  not  pursued 
it  with  great  success.     His  versions  of  Virgil  are  not  pleas- 
ing :  but  they  taught  Dry  den  to  please  better.     His  poeti- 
cal imitation  of  Tully  on  Old  Age  has  neither  the  clearness 
of  prose,  nor  the  spriteliness    of  poetry." — Most  of  the 
lesser  taults  pointed  out  in  Dr.  Johnson's  critique  "  are  in 
Denham's  first  productions,  when  he  was  less  skilful,  or  at 
least  less  dextrous  in   the  use  of  words ;  and  though  they 
had  been  more  frequent,  they  could  only  have  lessened 
the  grace,  not  the  strength,  of  his  composition.      He  is  one 
of  the  writers  that  improved  our  taste,  and   advanced   our 
languuge,  and  whom  we  ought  therefore  to  read  with  gra- 
titude,  though,   having  done  much,  he  left  much  to  do." 

It  has  not  been  generally  remarked  that  Denham  con- 
tinued to  iujprove  and  polish  his  poems  as  long  as  he  lived. 
Pope  wrote  on  his  copy  of  "  Cooper's  Hill"  the  following 
note  :  "  This  poem  was  first  printed  without  the  author's 
name  in  1643,  In  that  edition  are  a  great  many  verses  to 
be  found,  since  omitted,  and  very  many  others  since  cor- 
rected and  improved.  Some  few  the  author  afterwards 
added,  and  in  particular,  the  celebrated  lines  on  the 
Thames,  "  O  could  I  flow  like  thee,"  &c.  all  with  admir- 
able judgment;  and  the  whole  read  together  is  a  very 
strong  proof  of  what  Mr.  Waller  says, 

Poets  lose  half  the  pmise  they  should  have  got. 
Could  it  be  known  what  they  discretely  blot." 

On  the  above,  so  often  repeated,  lines  on  the  Thames, 
and  so  often  parodied,  the  reader  may  find  some  curious 
disquisitions  in  lord  Monboddo's  "  Origin  and  Progress  of 


D  E  N  H  A  M.  453 

Language,"  and  in  Mason's  "  Essay  on  the  power  of  Num- 
bers and  tlie  principles  of  Harmony,"  1749.  The  only 
opponent  of  Denham  as  a  p(jet,  generally,  is  Mr.  Scott  in 
his  ♦'  Critical  Essays,"  but  vviili  Dryden,  Johnson,  War- 
ton,  &c.  &.C.  in  his  favour,  liis  reputation  cannot  suffer 
inucii  by  a  solitary  foe.' 

DENHAM,  Sir  James  Stuart.     See  STUART. 

DENIS  (MiCiiAEL),  an  eminent  German  bibliographer, 
and  principal  librarian  of  the  imperial  library  of  V^ienna, 
was  born  at  Sclarden,  in  Bavaria,  in  1729,  and  died  at 
Vienna  in  1800,"  in  the  seventy -first  year  of  his  age.  He 
published  several  works  on  subjects  of  philology,  biblio- 
graphy, literary,  and  even  natural  history,  and  poetry. 
The  principal  of ■  these  are,  1.  A  translation  into  Ger- 
man of  "  Ossian's  poems,"  Vienna,  1768 — 1772,  3  vols. 
4to,  and  8vo.  This  translation  is  truly  poetical ;  but  the 
author  appears  to  have  committed  an  error  in  judgment, 
in  giving  the  preference  to  hexameters,  by  which  he  has 
given  a  refinement  and  a  connection  to  the  whole,  wtjich 
does  not  correspond  with  the  original.  2.  "  The  Songs 
of  the  Bard  Sined,"  (Denis)  with  a  preliminary  disserta- 
tion on  the  ancient  poetry  of  the  North,  Vienna,  1772, 
8vo.  3.  "  A  systematic  catalogue  of  Butterdies  in  the 
environs  of  Vienna,"  ibid.  1776,  4to,  with  plates.  4.  "An 
Introduction  to  the  knowledge  of  Books,"  2  vols.  4to, 
1777 — 1778.  This,  which  like  most  of  his  works,  is  writ- 
ten in  German,  contains  a  division  of  Bibliography  into 
three  periods.  The  first  relates  to  the  state  of  book-writing, 
previous  to  Christianity ;  the  second  comprehends  the 
state  of  Bibliography  from  the  introduction  of  Christianity 
to  the  restoration  of  letters,  or  the  invention  of  printing  ; 
and  the  third  extends  from  this  latter  period  to  the  pre- 
sent times.  Each  of  these  periods  contains  an  historical 
and  mechanical  account  of  book-making.  The  historical 
account  of  the  first  period  exhibits  the  origin,  progress, 
and  decline  of  the  art  of  writing  and  preserving  books  in 
different  nations  ;  and  the  other  part  of  this  same  neriod 
contains  a  description  of  the  alphabets,  paper,  and  instru- 
ments employed  in  writing,  and  the  form  of  books  in  these 
early  times.  In  the  second  period  is  the  history  of  print- 
ing ;  and  in  the  third,  an  account  of  the  most  celebrated 
Tibraries  of  that  time  in  Italy,  England,  France,  Holland^ 

'  Biog.  Brit, — Johnson's  Lives. — Spence's  Auecdotesj  MS. 


454  DENIS. 

Spain,  Sweden,    Poland,   Russia,  Germanj-,    and  Vienna, 
comprehending  printed  books  and  manuscripts.     In  this 
exhibition,  the  books  are  reduced,  like  the  sciences,  under 
the  distinct  classes  of  theology,  law,  philosophy,  physic, 
mathematics,   history,  and   philology,  and  are   considered 
with  respect  to  their  number,  their  qualities,   their  rarity, 
&c.  and  the  manuscripts,  whether  Hebrew,  Greek,   Latin, 
Gothic,   Lombard,  French,    or  Anglo-Saxon,   are  enume- 
rated, though  without  many  critical  illustrations.     5.  "  A 
Typographical  History  of  Vienna  from  the  year   1482  to 
1560,"  ibid.  1782,  4to.     6.  A  publication  in   Latin,   "  S. 
Augustini    Sermones  inediti,  admixtis  quibusdam  dubiis," 
ibid.  1792,  fol.     These  were  copied  from  a  manuscript  of 
the  twelfth  century  in  the  imperial  library.     7.   "  Codices 
manuscripti  theologici  Latini  aliarumque    occidentis  lin- 
guarum  bibliothecae  Palatinae  Vindobon."  vol.  I.  1793,  fol. 
vol.  II.   1801,  intended  as  a  continuation  of  Lambecius's 
very  elaborate  catalogue.     The  two  together  form  a  com- 
plete catalogue  of  every  article  in  the  imperial  library  of 
the  theological  kind,  except  ecclesiastical  history,  and  the 
canon-law.     9.   *'  Carmina  quaedam,"   Vienna,   1794,  4to, 
a  collection  of  Latin  poems.' 

DENISON  (John),  an  English  divine  and  theological 
writer,  became  a  student  of  Balliol  college,  Oxford,  in 
the  beginning  of  1590  ;  and,  when  he  had  taken  the  de- 
gree of  M.  A.  entered  into  holy  orders,  and  was  afterwards 
admitted  to  the  degree  of  D.  D.     He  was  domestic  chap* 
Iain  to  George  duke  of  Buckingham,  and  to  James  I.  and 
successively  vicar  of  all   the  three  churches  in   Reading ; 
being  instituted  t©   St.  Lawrence's,  Jan.  7,    1603;  to   St. 
Giles's,  July  9,  1612  ;  and  to  St.  Mary's,  March  31,  1614. 
He  died  at  Reading,  in  Jan.    1628-9,  and  was  buried  in 
St.  Mary's  church.     Besides  some  sermons,  enumerated  by 
Wood,  he  published,    1.   "  A  threefold  resolution   neces- 
sary to  salvation,    &c."    Lond.    1616,    8vo,   4th    edit.     2. 
*' Justification  of  kneeling  at  the  Sacrament,"  ibid.  1619, 
8vo.      3.    "  On   the   two    Sacraments,    Baptism   and   the 
Lord's  Supper,"  ibid.   1621,  4to,  and  some  controversial 
pieces,  the  most  distinguished  of  which  is  a  work  on  auri- 
cular confession,  in  answer  to  cardinal  Bellarmine  on   that 
subject.     The  title  is,  *'  De  confessionis  auricularis  vani- 
tate,  adversus  Card.  Bellarmini  sophismata,"  Oxon.  1621, 

•  Diet.  Ilist. — DJbdin's  Bibliomania. — Month,  Uev.  vols.  LVHI.  and  LXI, 


D  E  N  I  S  O  N.  455 

4to.  Dr.  Deriison  gave  several  valuable  books  to  the  Bod- 
leian library,  as  appears  by  a  letter  of  sir  Thomas  Boil  ley 
to  Dr.  King,  dean  of  Christ-church,  and  vice-chancellor, 
which  on  July  8,  1628,   was  read  in  convocation.' 

DENNE   (John),    D.  D.  an   eminent  divine  antl  anti- 
quary, descended  from  a  family  of  good  note  in  the  county 
of  Kent,  was  the  eldest  son  of  John  Denne,  gent,  who  had 
the   place  of  woodreve  to  the  see  of  Canterbury,  by  a 
patent  for  life  from  archbishop  Tenison.     He  was  born  at 
Littlebourne,  May  25,   1G93,  and  brought  up  in  the  free- 
schools  of  Sandwich  and  Canterbury.     He  went  thence  to 
Cambridge,  and  was  admitted  of  Corpus  Christi   college, 
under  the  tuition  of  Mr.  Robert  Damiye,  Feb.  25,    1708; 
and  was  afterwards  a  scholar  of  the  house  upon  archbishop 
Parker's  foundation.     He  proceeded  B.  A.  in   1712;  M.  A. 
in    1716;  and  was  elected   fellow  April   20,  in    the  same 
year.     Soon  after,  he  took  upon  him  the  office  of  tutor, 
jointly  with   Mr.  Thomas  Herring,  afterwards  archbishop 
of  Canterbury  ;  and  was  ordained  deacon  on  Trinity  Sun- 
day 1716,   by  bishop  Trimnell  ;  and  priest  Sept.  2  1,  1718. 
Not  long  afterwards   he  was  nominated   by  the  college  to 
the  perpetual   cure  of  St.   Benedict's  church,    in    Cam- 
bridge; whence  he  was  preferred  in  1721,  to  the  rectory 
of  Norton  Davy,  alias  Green's  Norton,  in  Northampton- 
shire, upon  a  presentation  from  the  king  ;  but  this  he  ex- 
changed, Sept.  30,  1723,  for  the  vicarage  of  St.  Leonard, 
Shoreditch,  in  London.    In  1725  he  was  appointed  preacher 
of  Mr.  Boyle's  lecture,  and  continued  so  for  three  years. 
His  next  promotion,  immediately  after  taking  the  degree 
of  D.  D.  was  to  the  archdeaconry  of  Rochester,  with  the 
prebend  annexed,  being  collated  thereto  July  22,   1728, 
by  bishop  Bradford,  to  whom  he  had  been  domestic  chap- 
lain  for  many  years,   and  whose  youngest  daughter  Su- 
sanna he  married   in   1721-.     He  was  instituted  July  24, 
1729,  to  the  vicarage  of  St.   Margaret's,  Rochester,  but 
this   he  resigned,  on  taking  possession  of  the  rectory  of 
Lambeth,  Nov.  27,  1731,  through  the  patronage  of  arch- 
bishop Wake.     He  died  August  5,   1767,  and  was   buried 
in  the  south  transept  of  Rochester  cathedral*     His  widow 
survived  him  upwards   of   thirteen  years,    dying   on   the 
3d  of  December,    1780. 

The  historian  of  his  college  says  very  justly,  that  whether 

*  Ath,  Ox.  v«l.  I.— Coates's  Hist,  of  Reading. 


456  D  E  N  N  E. 

Dr»  Denne  is  to  be  considered  as  the  minister  of  a  parish, 
or  as  a  governor  in  the  church,  he  never  failed,  by  an  un- 
common degree  of  application,  to  acquit  liimself  with  credit 
jn  each  station.  His  abilities  as  a  scholar  and  divine  may  be 
estimated  from  his  printed  sermons,  amounting  to  sixteen, 
preached  on  occasional  subjects  ;  a  "  Concio  ad  Clerum," 
1745  ;  "Articlesof  inquiry  for  a  parochial  Visitation,"  1732; 
*'  The  State  of  Bromley  College,  in  Kent ;"  and  "  A  Re- 
gister of  Benefactions  to  the  parish  of  Slioreditch,"  drawn  up 
in  1745,  with  notes,  but  not  printed  till  1772,  4to.  His  as- 
siduity and  usefulness  in  promoting  what  he  conceived  to  be 
for  the  interest  and  credit  of  this  parish,  were  conspicuous, 
in  his  successful  researches  after  the  benefactions,  and  the 
application  of  them  5  in  the  business  of  rebuilding  the 
church  from  its  origin  to  the  completion  ;  and  in  establish- 
ing upon  the  present  plan  the  vegetable  lecture*  founded 
by  iVlr.  Fairchild. 

Dr.  Denne  was  yet  more  frequently  useful  by  his  re- 
searches as  an  antiquary,  and  the  valuable  assistance  he 
contributed  to  many  eminent  antiquaries  in  the  publication 
of  their  works.  At  the  time  of  his  becoming  a  member  of 
the  chapter  of  Rochester,  not  a  few  of  its  muniments  and 
papers  were  in  much  confusion  ;  these  he  digested,  and 
by  that  means  rendered  the  management  of  the  affairs  of 
the  dean  and  chapter  easy  to  his  contemporaries  and  their 
successors.  He  was  particularly  conversant  in  ICnglish  ec- 
clesiastical history  ;  and  this  employment  afforded  him  an 
opportunity  of  extending  his  knowledge  to  many  points  not 
commorilv  accessible.  His  attention  to  such  matters  be- 
gan at  a  very  early  period  j  whilst  a  fellow  of  Corpus  Christi 
college,  he  transmitted  to  Mr.  Lewis,  from  MSS.  in  the 
libraries  of  the  university  of  Cambridge,  many  useful  ma- 
terials for  his  "  Life  of  Wicliff,"  and  when  that  learned 
divine  was  afterwards  engaged  in  drawing  up  his  *'  History 
of  the  Isle  of  Thanet,"  he  applied  to  Mr,  Denne  for  such 
information  as  cotdd  be  collected  from  archbishop  Parker's 
MSS.  in  his  colle<;e.  He  also  collated  Hearne's  edition  of 
the  "  Textus  RottVnsis,"  with  the  original  at  Rochester, 

♦  T]}]S  lect'-ire  was  founfled  by  Mr.  Dead,  proved   by  the  certain  changes 

Tlioinas    F;iirohilil,    a    gardener,    who  of  ttie    animal  and  Tegt'tal)le  parts  o? 

beqit>-atla*(l  a  --uin  of  moiii'y  for  a  ser-  tb«  cication."      Amonp  the  preachers* 

mon    I'll    U'h  tsiiu    Tiie.-day,     to    be  names,   we  find  those  of    l)i.    Denne, 

pretichfd  on  "  Tlif  w<in(kiful  works  of  Dr.     Stuki^ley,     rev.    Anselnv     Jiayh'v^ 

tiod    ni  the  Creation,"    or   "    On   'lie  rev.   Ur.  Henry  Owen,  rev.  Dr.  Morefl, 

Certainty  of  ihe  Resurrection  of  the  and  the  rev.  William  J  ones  of  Nay  lar.d. 


D  E  N  N  E.  457 

and  transcribed  the  marginal  additions  by  Lanibarde,  Dering-, 
&c.  carefully  referred  to  the  other  MSS.  that  contain  these 
instruments,  as  Reg.  Temp.  RofT.  and  the  Cotton  librar}'^, 
with  all  which  he  furnished  the  late  venerable  Dr.  Pegge. 
It  was  evidently  his  intention  to  have  written  a  history  of 
the  church  of  Rochester,  and  his  reading  and  inquiry  were 
directe<l  to  that  object,  which,  however,  he  delayed  until 
his  health  would  not  permit  the  necessary  labour  of  tran- 
scription and  arrangement.' 

DENNE  (Samuel),  youngest  son  of  the  preceding,  was 
born  at  the  deanry  in  Westminster,  Jan.  13,  1730;  ad- 
mitted of  Corpus  Christi,  or  Bene't  college,  1748,  where 
he  proceeded  B.  A.  175:^,  M.  A.  1736,  and  was  elected 
F.  S.  A.  1783,  He  was  presented  in  1754  by  the  dean 
and  chapter  of  Rochester,  to  the  vicarac;e  of  Lamberhurst, 
in  Kent;  and  in  1767  to  that  of  Wilmington,  near  Dart- 
ford  ;  and  the  same  j^ear  to  the  vicarage  of  Darent,  having 
resigned  Lamberhurst.  For  nearly  forty  years  of  his  life 
he  was  afflicted  with  a  bilious  complaint,  which  frequently 
interrupted  his  studies,  and  gradually  impaired  his  consti- 
tution. For  the  last  two  months  he  was  confined  to  a 
chair  in  his  library,  in  which  he  was  supported  by  a  pillow, 
and  although  frequently  sinking  under  an  oppressive  lan- 
guor, his  faculties  remained  entire  to  the  last.  He  died 
Aug.  3,  1799,  and  was  interred  near  his  father  in  Roches- 
ter cathedral. 

Like  his  father,  much  of  hislife  was  devoted  to  researches 
into  ancient  history  and  antiquities.  The  only  publications 
of  his  not  of  this  kind,  were  "  A  Letter  to  sir  Robert  Lad- 
broke,  &c.  on  the  confinement  of  Criminals  in  separate  apart- 
ments," &.C.  1771,  and  an  anonymous  pamphlet  signed  Rus- 
ticus,  relative  to  the  hardships  experienced  by  the  families  of 
clergymen  who  happen  to  die  just  before  the  time  of  harvest. 
The  '♦  History  and  Antiquities  of  Rochester,"  published 
by  T.  Fisher  in  1772,  was  avowedly  his  compilation;  and 
in  1795,  he  published  "  Historical  particulars  of  Lambeth 
parish  and  Lambeth  palace,  in  addition  to  the  Histories  of 
Dr.  Ducarel  in  the  Bibliotheca  Topographica  Britannica." 
The  works  which  he  assisted  by  valuable  contributions  of 
essays,  dissertations,  &c.  are  the  "  Archaeologia,"  vols.  VL 
— Xin.;  Thorpe's  "  Custumale  Roffense;"  Gough's  "  Se- 
pulchral Monuments;"  Hasted's  Kent;  "Biblioth.  Topog. 

'  Masters's  Hist,  of  C.  C.  C.  C— Ellis's  Hist,  of  Shored  itch.— Nichols's  Bowyer. 


458  DEN  N  E. 

Britannica;"  Nichols's  "  Illustrations  of  the  Manners  and 
Expences  of  ancient  times  in  England  ;"  Atteibury's  "  Epis- 
tolary Correspondence;"  the  "Topographer;"  Ellis*s 
*'  History  of  Shoreditch  ;"  and  the  Gentleman's  Magazine, 
to  which  he  was  a  very  frequent  contributor,  from  vol  XLI. 
to  the  time  of  his  death  ;  his  signatures  were  T.  Row,  and 
W  and  D,  the  initials  of  his  two  livings  Wilmington  and 
Darent.  Many  of  his  as  well  as  his  father's  books,  were 
illustrated  with  manuscript  notes,  and  are  now  dispersed 
in  various  libraries.  One  of  these,  a  copy  of  Letsome'* 
*'  Preacher's  Assistant,"  filled  with  additions  by  him  and 
his  father,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  rev.  Robert 
Watts,  librarian  of  Sion  college,  who  is  preparing  a  nevr 
edition  of  that  very  useful  work.  ^ 

DENNER  (Balthasar),  a  portrait  painter  of  consider- 
able eminence,  for  minuteness  of  labour  at  least,  if  not 
of  genius,  was  born  at  Hamburgh  in  1685,  and  after  study- 
ing his  art  at  Altena  and  Dantzic,  improved  himself  by 
copying  the  best  pictures  in  the  latter  city,  and  also  studied 
diligently  after  living  models.  His  first  great  attempt  was 
the  jjortrait  of  Duke  Christian  Augustus,  administrator  of 
Holstein  Gottorp,  which  he  executed  in  miniature  with 
such  success  as  to  establish  his  credit  at  that  court,  where 
he  also  painted,  in  one  very  large  picture,  twenty-one 
portraits  of  the  family  of  that  prince,  and  introduced  his 
own.  He  was  principally  employed  by  the  princes  of  Ger- 
many;  and  the  king  of  Deinnark,  and  George  I.  having  seen 
some  of  his  works  at  Hanover,  promised  to  sit  to  him,  if  he 
would  come  over  to  England.  Denner  accordingly  arrived 
here,  but  succeeded  so  ill  in  the  pictures  of  two  of  the  king's 
favourite  German  ladies,  that  he  did  not  obtain  the  footing 
he  had  expected  at  court.  His  fame,  however,  rose  very 
high,  on  his  exhibiting  the  head  of  an  "Old  Woman,"  that 
he  brought  over  with  him,  about  sixteen  inches  high,  and 
thirteen  wide,  in  which  the  grain  of  the  skin,  the  hairs, 
the  down,  the  glassy  humour  of  the  eyes,  were  represented 
with  the  most  exact  minuteness ;  but  it  gained  him  more 
applause  than  custom,  for  a  man  could  not  execute  many 
works  who  employed  so  much  time  to  finish  them.  The 
emperor  of  Germany,  however,  gave  him  six  hundred 
ducats  for  the  picture.  He  finished  here  an  "  Old  Man," 
as  a  companion  to  it,  which  he  had  begun  at  Hamburgh; 

>  Nichols's  Bowyer. 


D  E  N  N  E  R.  459 

and  also  painted  himself,  his  wife,  and  children,  with  the 
same  circumstantial  detail.  Mr.  Fuseli  very  justly  remarks 
of  him  that  he  was  born  to  be  a  fac-simihst,  and  not  a 
painter.  With  the  most  anxious  transcription  of  parts,  he 
missed  the  whole,  and  that  air  of  life  which  is  tht-  result  of 
imitation.  He  left  England  in  1728,  and  died,  probably 
in  his  native  country,  in  1747.  His  *'  Old  Woman"  has 
been  exhibited,  or  a  copy  from  it,  within  these  few  years 
in  London.  Lord  Orford  adds  that  "  the  portrait  of  John 
Frederic  Weichman  of  Hamburgh,  painted  by  him,  is  said 
to  be  in  the  Bodleian  library  at  Oxford."  But  in  the  cata- 
logue of  pictures  tht^re,  this  is  stated  to  have  been  painted 
as  well  as  given  by  Weichman  himself.  * 

DENNIS  (John),  a  poet,  a  political  writer,  and  a  critic, 
was  born  in  the  city  of  London  in  1657.  His  father  was  a 
sadler,  and  a  citizen  of  reputation  ;  who  determining  to 
give  him  a  liberal  education,  sent  him  to  Harrow-on-the- 
Hill,  where  he  received  his  grammatical  instruction  under 
Dr.  William  Horn,  a  school-master  in  high  esteem  for 
piety  and  literature.  In  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  age  he 
was  removed  to  the  university  of  Cambridge,  where  he 
was  entered  of  Caius  college,  .January  13,  1675,  and  con- 
tinued there  till  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree  in  1679;  after 
which  he  became  a  member  of  Trinity-hall,  and  in  16S3, 
was  admitted  to  the  degree  of  master  of  arts.  It  is  related, 
by  the  author  of  the  Biographia  Dramatica,  that  he  was 
expelled  from  college,  for  literally  attempting  to  stab  a 
person  in  the  dark,  which  has  been  since  confirmed  by 
Dr.  Farmer,  by  an  extract  from  the  Gesta  book  of  Caius 
college  :  by  this  it  appears  that  he  was  expelled  March  4, 
1680,  for  assaulting  and  wounding  one  Glenham  with  a 
sword.     This  accounts  for  his  removing  to  Trinity  hall. 

Not  satisfied  with  obtainins:  the  best  education  his  own 
country  could  afford,  Mr.  Dennis  determined  to  improve 
his  understanding,  and  increase  the  extent  of  his  know- 
ledge abroad,  and  made  the  tour  of  France  and  Italy  ;  in  the 
course  of  which  it  is  said  that  his  observations  on  the  evil 
effects  arising  from  despotic  government,  greatly  contri- 
buted to  strengthen  in  him  those  principles  of  whiggism, 
and  that  zeal  for  liberty  which  he  had  early  imbibed,  and 
which  he  invariably  maintained  to  the  close  of  his  life  On 
bis  return  to  England,  such  was  the  opinion  entertained  of 

^  PescampS;  vol.  IV. — Pilkington,  edit.  1805.— Walpolt's  Anecdotes. 


460  D  E  N  N  I  S. 

his  accomplishments,  that  he  found  an  easy  admission  inta 
the  company  of  several  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of 
the  age  fcxr  genius,  wit,  and  learning,  particularly  the  earls 
of  Pembroke  and  Mnigrave,  CharU-s  Montague,  esq.  after- 
wards earl  of  Halifax,  Walter  Moyle,  esq.  Mr.  Wycherley, 
and  the  celebrated  poets  Dryden,  Congreve,  Southern,  and 
Garth.  All  these  thought  highly  of  his  talents ;  but 
certainly  haM  not  the  same  reason  to  think  well  of  his  dis- 
cretion ;  his  ))ride  and  passion  hurrying  him  into  actions 
which  were  injurious  to  his  reputation.  It  is  related,  that 
on  hi-s  first  introduction  to  Charles  Montague,  esq.  he  got 
intoxicated  with  some  very  fine  wines,  to  which  he  had  not 
been  accustomed,  and  becoming  impatient  of  contradic- 
tion, suddenly  rose,  rushed  out  of  the  room,  and  over- 
turned the  sideboard  of  plate  and  glasses  as  he  went.  Next 
morning,  seeing  Mr.  Moyle,  he  told  him,  that  he  had  for- 
gotten every  thing  which  had  happened,  and  desired  to 
know  in  what  manner  he  went  away.  *'  Why,"  said  Moyle, 
*'  You  went  away  like  the  devil,  and  took  one  corner  of 
the  house  with  you," 

If  Deimis  was  originally  designed  for  any  particular  pro- 
fession, he  was  probably  diverted  from  it  by  the  company 
he  kept,  or,  having  some  fortune  left  him  by  an  uncle,  h^ 
might  determine  to  devote  himself  wholly  to  poetry,  po- 
litics, and  criticism.  The  greater  part  of  his  poems  are 
printed  in  his  select  works,  published  by  him,  in  two  vo- 
lumes, in  17  J  8.  The  editor  of  the  Biographia  Britannica 
has  bestowed  much  unnecessary  criticism  on  this  collection 
of  poems,  few  of  which  will  bear  the  test,  either  of  ori- 
ginality, poetic  spirit,  or  elegance,  although  verses  not 
much  suj^erior  have  unquestionably  been  admitted  into 
Dr.  Johnson's  and  other  bodies  of  English  poetry.  Few 
readers  will  now  be  disposed  to  make  Dennis's  poetry  the 
©bject  of  their  attention.  Independently  of  its  other  de- 
ficiencies, the  subjects  to  which  it  was  devoted  were  not 
calculated  to  confer  upon  it  any  lasting  degree  of  popu- 
larity. Political,  and  especially  panegyrical  poems  are 
only  fitted  to  excite  a  temporary  admiration. 

As  a  dramatic  writer,  his  first  performance  was  a  comedy, 
entitled  "  A  Plot  and  no  Plot,  or  Jacobite  Credulity," 
acted  at  the  theatre  royal  in  Drury-lane,  in  IG97,  and  in- 
tended as  a  satire  on  the  party  devoted  to  king  James.  lu 
the  story,  Mr.  Dennis  justly  claims  the  merit  of  original^ 
invention,  and  many  of  the  scenes  abound  with  wit ;  but 


DENNIS.  461 

several   of  the  incidents  are  very  absurd  and  unnatural. 
His  second  dramatic  production  was   "  Rinaldo  and   Ar- 
mida,"  a  tragedy,  acted  at  Lincoln's-inn    P^ields,  in  1699  ; 
the  hint  of  the  chief  characters  is  borrowed   from  Tasso's 
Gierusalemme,     As,  however,   Mr.  Dennis  was   not  satis- 
fied with  the  manners  of  that  great  ItaHan,   he  has  taken 
the  liberty  to  change  them,  and  to  form  the  characters  ac- 
cordi[)g  to  what  he  apprehended  to  be  more  agreeable  to 
the  subject.     The  scene  lies  oh  a  top  of  a  mountain  in  the 
Canaries ;    and   the  musical    entertainments    tliat  accom- 
panied the  work  were  composed  by  Mr.  John  Kccles,  ex- 
cepting a  chorus  in  the  fourth  act,  which  is  borrowed  from 
Mr.  Henry  Purcell's  frost  scene.    Anotiier  tragedy,  "  Iphi- 
genia,"  was  produced  by  our  author  in  1700,  and  brouglit 
on  at  the   theatre  in   Little  Lincoln's-inn  Fields,  where  it 
was  condemned  ;  but  although  there  are  undoubtedly  many 
irregular  lines  in  it,  and  perhaps  some   passages  savour  of 
turgidity,  upon  the  whole,  it    is  a  pathetic  and  interesting 
performance.      It  must    not,    however,  be  concealed  that 
Mr.  Dennis  has   derived  his   chief  excellence  from  Euri- 
pides's  Iphigenia  in  Tauris,   whence  his  story  is  taken,  and 
indeed  his  obligations  to  Euripides  are  so  numerous,   that 
he  ought  to  have  openly  acknowledged  them.     With  less 
merit  than  '•  Iphigenia,"  a  comedy  of  Mr.  Dennis's,  which 
was  produced  by  him  in  1702,  was  somewhat  more  success- 
ful at  the  theatre.     The  title  of  it  is,  "  The  Comical  Gal- 
lant, with  the  Amours  of  Sir  John  P^alstaff,"  a  very  indif- 
ferent alteration  of  Shakspeare's  *'  Merry  Wives  of  Wind- 
sor."    When  it  was  published,  a  large  essay  was  added  ot: 
taste  in  poetry,  and  the  causes  of  its  degeneracy. 

In  1704,  our  author  brought  out  a  tragedy,  entitled 
"  Liberty  asserted,"  the  scene  of  which  is  laid  at  Agnie 
(which  name,  he  says,  for  the  sake  of  a  better  sound,  he 
has  altered  to  Angie)  in  Canada  ;  and  the  plot  is  an  ima- 
gined one,  from  the  wars  carried  on  among  the  Indian 
nations.  In  the  dedication  to  Anthony  Henley,  esq.  Mr. 
Dennis  owns  himself  to  be  indebted  to  that  gentleman  for 
"  the  happy  hint  upon  which  it  was  formed."  This  was 
by  far  the  most  successful  of  all  our  author's  dramatic  pro- 
ductions ;  having  been  represented  many  times  at  Lin- 
coln's-inn Fields  with  very  great  applause.  This  was  pro- 
bably owinjr,  in  a  considerable  degree,  not  to  its  own  merit, 
but  to  the  abuse  which  is  plentifully  scattered  through  it 
upon  the  French  nation,  which,  during  a  season  of  war, 


462  D  E  K  N  I  S. 

was  congenial  to  the  feelings  of  the  auditory.  Its  success, 
however,  produced  an  odd  effect  on  Dennis's  imagination, 
which  was  never  well  regulated.  Thinking  that  the  seve- 
rity of  the  strokes  against  the  French  could  never  be  for- 
given, and  consequently,  that  Louis  XIV.  woulct  not  con- 
sent to  a  peace  with  England,  unless  be  was  delivered  up  a 
sacrifice  to  national  resentment,  he  carried  this  apprehen- 
sion so  far  that  when  the  congress  for  the  peace  at  Utrecht 
was  in  agitation,  he  waited  on  the  duke  of  Marlborough, 
who  had  formerly  been  his  patron,  to  entreat  his  interest 
with  the  plenipotentiaries,  that  they  should  not  consent  to 
bis  being  given  up.  With  great  gravity  the  duke  informed 
him,  that  he  was  sorry  it  was  out  of  his  power  to  serve  him, 
as  at  that  time  he  had  no  connexion  with  the  ministry, 
adding,  that  he  fancied  his  case  not  to  be  quite  so  desperate 
as  he  seemed  to  imagine ;  for  that,  indeed,  he  had  taken 
no  care  to  get  himself  excepted  in  the  articles  of  peace ; 
and  yet  he  could  not  help  thinking  that  he  had  done  the 
French  almost  as  much  damage  as  even  Mr.  Dennis.  An- 
other instance  of  our  author's  terror,  arising  from  his  self- 
importance,  is  thus  related.  Having  been  invited  down 
to  a  gentleman's  house  on  the  coast  of  Sussex,  where  he 
was  very  kindly  entertained,  as  he  was  walking  one  day 
near  the  beach,  he  saw  a  ship  sailing,  as  he  imagined,  to- 
wards him.  Upon  this,  supposing  that  he  was  betrayed, 
he  immediately  made  the  best  of  his  way  to  London,  with- 
out even  taking  leave  of  his  host,  whom  he  believed  to 
have  been  concerned  in  the  plot  against  him,  and  to  have 
decoyed  him  to  his  house,  with  no  other  view  than  to  give 
notice  to  the  French,  who  had  fitted  out  a  vessel  on  pur- 
pose to  carry  him  off,  if  he  had  not  luckily  discovered  their 
design. 

Mr.  Dennis's  next  dramatic  attempt  was  in  a  comedy, 
entitled  "  Gibraltar,  or  the  Spanish  Adventure ;"  and 
which  was  performed  in  1705,  at  the  theatre  royal  in 
Drury-lane  ;  but  without  success.  "  Orpheus  and  Eury- 
dice,"  a  masque,  which  was  produced  by  our  author  in 
1707,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  acted.  It  is  printed  in 
the  "  Muse's  Mercury,"  for  the  month  of  February  in  that 
year.  In  1709,  Mr.  Dennis  brought  upon  the  stage,  at 
Drury-lane,  "  Appius  and  Virginia,"  a  tragedy,  which 
was  not  very  successful ;  but  is  remarkable  for  a  circum- 
stance little  connected  with  its  literary  merit.  Dennis, 
expressly  for  the  use  of  this  play,  had  invented  a  new  spe- 


DENNIS,  46S 

cies  of  thunder,  which  was  approved  of  by  the  actors,  and 
is  the  sort  at  present  used  in  the  theatre.  Some  nights 
after  his  tragedy  had  been  laid  aside,  Dennis  being  in  the 
pit  at  the  representation  of  Macbeth,  heard  his  own  thun- 
der made  use  of;  upon  which  he  rose  in  a  violent  passion, 
and  exclaimed,  with  an  oath,  that  it  was  his  thunder. 
"  See,"  said  he,  ''how  these  rascals  use  me!  They  will  not 
let  my  play  run  ;  and  yet  they  steal  my  thunder  !"  Our 
author's  last  dramatic  production  was  "  Coriolanus,  the 
Invader  of  his  country;  or,  The  Fatal  Resentment;"  a 
tragedy,  altered  from  Shakspeare's  Coriolanus.  After  it 
had  been  represented  three  nights,  the  managers  Wilks, 
Cibber,  and  Booth,  who  were  not  satisfied  with  the  profits 
derived  from  it,  to  the  astonishment  and  indignation  of 
Mr.  Dennis,  gave  out  another  play  for  the  next  evening. 
Upon  this  he  published  his  tragedy,  with  a  dedication  to 
the  duke  of  Newcastle,  at  that  time  lord  chamberlain  of 
his  majesty's  household,  in  which  he  has  given  full  scope 
to  his  resentment  against  the  patentees,  and  especially 
against  Mr.  Cibber.  The  last  gentleman,  instead  of  the 
author's  epilogue,  had  substituted  one  of  his  own,  which 
was  spoken  by  Mrs.  Oldfield,  an  additional  cause  of  offence 
to  our  poet,  who,  in  an  advertisement,  has  represented  it 
as  a  wretched  medley  of  impudence  and  nonsense  ;  and, 
indeed,  it  does  not  appear  to  be  entitled  to  commendation. 
Dennis,  as  already  noticed,  derived  some  fortune  from 
an  uncle  ;  but  that  was  probably  spent  in  a  little  time.  As 
he  wrote  for  government  when  the  whigs  were  in  power, 
and  was  patronised  by  lord  Halifax,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that  he  occasionally  received  pecuniary  gratifications, 
either  from  the  bounty  or  through  the  interest  of  that  no- 
bleman. For  his  poem  on  the  battle  of  Blenheim  the  duke 
of  Marlborough  rewarded  him  with  a  present  of  a  hundred 
guineas.  But,  previously  to  the  writing  of  that  poem,  he 
had  experienced  his  grace's  patronage  in  a  much  more 
important  instance  ;  for  the  duke  had  procured  for  him  the 
place  of  a  waiter  at  the  Custom-house,  worth  a  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds  a  year.  This  office  he  held  for  six 
years ;  during  which  he  managed  his  affairs  with  so  little 
discretion,  that,  in  order  to  discharge  some  pressing  de- 
mands, he  was  obliged  to  dispose  of  his  waitership.  The 
carl  of  Halifax,  having  heard  of  his  design,  sent  for  him, 
and,  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  expostulated  with  him 
wpon  the  folly  and  rashness  of  disposing  of  his  place,  by 


*64-  DENNIS. 

which  his  lordship  told  him  that  he  would  soon  become  a 
beggar.  In  reply,  cur  author  represented  tiie  exigencies 
to  which  he  was  reduced,  and  the  importunate  nature  of 
the  demands  that  were  made  upon  him.  The  eari,  how- 
ever, insisted,  tiiar,  if  lie  must  sell  his  place,  he  should 
reserve  to  himself  an  annuity  out  ot  it  for  a  considerable 
term  of  years;  such  a  term  as  liis  lordship  thought  Mr. 
Dennis  was  not  likely  to  survive;  yet  this  ije  did  survive, 
and  was  exposed  in  his  old  age  to  great  poverty.  With 
such  a  disposition  as  Mr.  Dennis  possessed,  it  is  not  sur- 
prizing tiiat  he  was  often  liable  to  arrests  from  his  cre- 
diturs.  An  instance  of  sir  Richard  Steele's  friendship  to 
him  in  this  respect  he  is  said  to  have  ill-repaid.  Sir 
Kichard,  if  the  story  be  true,  once  became  bail  for  him, 
and  afterwards  was  arrested  on  his  account;  but,  when 
he  heard  of  it,  he  only  exclaimed,  *'  'Sdeath  !  why  did  he 
not  keep  out  of  the  way,  as  I  did  ?"  In  the  latter  part  of 
our  poet's  life,  he  resided  within  the  verge  of  the  court, 
for  the  security  of  his  person,  but  one  Saturday  night,  he 
happened  to  saunter  to  a  public-house,  which,  in  a  short 
time,  he  discovered  to  be  out  of  the  verge.  As  he  was 
sitting  in  an  open  drinking-room,  a  man  of  a  suspicious 
appearance  entered,  about  wliom  Mr.  Dermis  imagined 
there  was  something  that  denoted  him  to  be  a  bailiff.  Being 
seized  with  a  panic,  he  was  afraid  that  his  liberty  was  now 
at  an  end,  and  sat  in  the  utmost  solicitude,  but  durst  not 
offer  to  stir,  lest  he  should  be  seized  upon.  After  an  hour 
or  two  had  passed  in  this  painful  anxiety,  at  last  the  clock 
struck  twelve;  wiwn  Mr.  Dennis,  addressing  himself  to 
the  suspected  person,  cried  out  in  an  extacy,  "  Now,  sir, 
bailiff'  or  no  badiff,  I  don't  care  a  farthing  for  you — you 
have  no  power  now."  The  man  was  astonished  at  his  be- 
haviour;  and,  wlien  it  was  explained  to  him,  was  so  much 
affronted  with  the  suspicion,  that,  had  not  our  author  been 
protected  by  his  age,  he  would  probably  have  taken  per- 
sonal revenge. 

On  Mr.  Dennis's  character  as  a  political  writer  it  is  not 
necessary  to  enlarge.  It  is  probable  that,  in  this  capacity, 
he  may  have  been  the  aiuhor  of  several  tracts,  which  are 
now  forgotten,  and  with  regard  to  which  there  would  be 
no  utility  in  endeavouring  to  rescue:  them  from  oblivion.  In 
his  select  works  are  inserted  the  productions  of  this  kii>d 
which  he  himself  thought  of  the  most  consequence,  and 
the  most  worthy  of  preservation.     The  first  of  them  was 


DENNIS.  46^ 

publislied  in  1702,  and  is  an  answer  to  a  discourse  of  the 
famous  Henry  Sacheverell,  called  *'  The  Political  Union.'* 
Dennis's  piece  is  entitled  "  Priestcraft  dangerous  to  Re- 
ligion and  Government ;"  and  is  a  defence  of  low-church 
principles  and  toleration.  In  1703  he  printed  "  A  Proposal 
for  j)utting  a  speedy  End  to  the  War,  by  ruining  the  com* 
merce  of  the  French  and  Spaniards,  and  securing  our  own, 
without  any  additional  expence  to  the  nation."  The  scheme 
was,  to  form  such  a  junction  of  the  English  and  Dutch 
fleets,  and  such  a  combination  and  disposition  of  a  large 
number  of  smaller  armed  vessels,  as  should  effectually 
carry  into  execution  the  purpose  intended.  Our  author 
has  explained  his  project  with  sufficient  ingenuity;  but, 
like  many  other  projects  which  voluntary  politicians  have 
been  so  ready  to  contrive  for  the  public  good,  it  met  with 
no  degree  of  regard.  Indeed,  the  views  and  measures  of 
the  then  subsisting  ministry  were  more  directed  to  exer- 
tions by  land  than  at  sea.  In  1711  he  produced  "An 
Essay  upon  Public  Spirit ;  being  a  Satire,  in  prose,  upon 
the  manners  and  luxury  of  the  times,  the  chief  sources  of 
our  present  parties  and  divisions,"  a  violent  and  not  very 
judicious  declamation  against  the  vices  of  his  own  age,  in 
contrast  with  the  virtues  of  our  remote  ancestors. 

The  last  political  production  of  Mr.  Dennis  appeared  id 
the  beginning  of  king  George  the  First's  reign,  and  is  en- 
titled, "  Priestcraft  distinguished  from  Christianity  ;"  but 
this,  perhaps,  may  rather  be  considered  as  a  theological 
than  a  political  work,  and  was  i)rincipaUy  intended  to  ex- 
pose those  high  claims  of  churchmen,  and  those  arbitrary 
principles  of  government,  which  were  hostile  tp  the  in- 
terests of  the  house  of  Hanover. 

We  are  now  to  consider  Mr.  Dennis  in  his  critical  ca- 
pacity, in  which  he  so  frequently  exerted  himself  that  he 
came  to  be  called  the  Critic,  by  way  of  distinction.  For 
sustaining  this  character  he  was  not  ill  qualified  by  his 
knowledge,  learning,  and  judgment.  He  mainta;ined  it 
likewise  with  reputation  for  some  time  ;  but  at  length  he 
displayed  this  talent  with  so  little  judgment  or  delicacy, 
and  against  men  of  such  eminence  and  superiority,  that 
they  succeeded  in  reducing  him  to  a  low  degree  of  estima- 
tion with  the  public.  His  first  criticism  was  entitled  "Ob- 
servations on  Blackmore's  Prince  Arthur ;"  the  third  edi- 
tion of  whicli  poem  was  printed  iu  1696,  and  which  might 
afford  sufficient  scope  for  a  variety  of  strictures  ;  but  that 

Vol.  XI.  H  h 


466  DENNIS. 

in  this  instance  he  was  more  mild  than  usual,  is  probable, 
from  his  afterwards  corresponding  with  sir  Richard  Black- 
more  on  very  friendly  terms.  In  1696  or  1697,  he  pub- 
lished *'  Letters  upon  several  occasions,"  written  partly 
by  himself,  and  partly  by  Mr.  Dryden,  Mr.  Wycherley, 
Mr.  Moyle,  and  Mr.  Congreve.  The  subjects  of  them  are 
in  some  degree  miscellaneous ;  but  chiefly  critical ;  and, 
among  other  things,  they  contain  Mr.  Congreve's  Obser- 
vations concerning  Humour  in  Comedy.  A  very  high 
opinion  of  our  author  was  at  this  time  entertained  by  Dry- 
den and  Congreve.  In  1701  he  gave  to  the  public  a  cri- 
tical discourse,  entitled  "  The  Advancement  and  Refor- 
mation of  modern  Poetry,"  divided  into  two  parts  ;  the 
design  of  the  first  of  which  is  to  shew,  that  the  principal 
reason  wh}'  the  ancients  excelled  the  moderns  in  the  higher 
species  of  poetry  was,  because  they  mixed  religion  with  it. 
In  the  second,  Mr.  Dennis  endeavours  to  prove,  that  by 
joining  poetry  with  the  religion  revealed  to  us  in  sacred 
writ,  the  modern  poets  might  equal  the  ancient.  Whether 
he  has  entirely  succeeded  in  the  positions  he  maintains, 
may,  perhaps,  be  doubtful ;  but  he  has  supported  them 
with  some  ingenuity  and  ability. 

In  the  beginning  of  1704  our  author  distinguished  him- 
self as  an  antagonist  of  the  famous  Jeremy  Collier.  That 
gentleman  had  made  his  first  attack  upon  the  stage  io 
1698  ;  and,  upon  occasion  of  the  great  storm  which  hap- 
pened on  the  27th  of  November  1703,  renewed  his  attack, 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "A  Dissuasive  from  the  Play-house; 
written  by  way  of  letter  to  a  Person  of  Quality."  The  de- 
sign of  this  piece  was  to  represent  the  tempest  as  a  judg- 
ment upon  the  nation  for  the  enormities  of  the  theatre. 
On  this  Dennis  wrote  "  The  Person  of  Quality's  Answer 
to  Mr.  Collier's  Letter:  containing  a  Defence  of  a  regu- 
lated Stage,"  in  which  he  had  the  prudence  to  confine 
himself  to  the  vindication  of  a  theatre  under  proper  regu- 
lations ;  freely  giving  up  the  licentiousness  and  profane- 
ness  by  which  it  had  formerly  been  so  greatly  dishonoured, 
and  which  rendered  the  greater  part  of  Collier's  writings 
unanswerable. 

In  1706  our  author  published  "  An  Essay  on  the  Operas, 
after  the  Italian  manner,  which  are  about  to  be  established 
on  the  English  Stage  ;  with  some  reflections  on  the  damage 
which  they  may  bring  to  the  public."  His  opinions  here 
had  been  adopted  by  the  most  eminent  writers  of  the  time, 


DENNIS.  467 

who  had  some  cause  for  resentment  in  the  cold  reception 
that  had  been  given  to  the  English  drama.  Our  author 
declares,  however,  in  his  preface,  that  his  treatise  is  only 
levelled  against  those  operas  which  are  entirely  musical ; 
since  tliose  which  are  dramatical  may  he  pa  tiy  defended 
by  the  examples  of  tlie  ancients. — Another  of  Mr.  Dennis's 
critical  publications,  but  of  what  date  we  are  not  able  to 
ascertain,  is  preserved  in  his  select  works,  "  The  Grounds 
of  Criticism  in  Poetry,"  a  sequel  to  the  sentiments  which 
he  had  maintained  in  his  *'  Advancement  and  Keformation 
of  modern  Poetry."  Here  he  again  insists  upon  the  im- 
mense scope  which  religion  affords  for  poetic  excellence. 
Under  the  word  religion  he  includes  the  whole  system  of 
supernatural  machinery,  the  introduction  of  superior  beings, 
and  all  the  noble  fictions,  sentiments,  addresses,  and 
images,  that  may  be  derived  from  the  knowledge  of  reve- 
lation. In  the  beginning  of  1711  our  author  produced 
another  tract,  which  added  farther  to  his  reputation  as  a 
critic ;  his  three  "  Letters  on  the  Genius  and  Writings  of 
Shakspeare,"  in  which  he  has  drawn  the  poetical  charac- 
ter of  our  immortal  dramatist  with  sagacity  and  judgment; 
and  has  strongly  supported  the  opinion  of  Shakspeare's 
learning,  which  has  since  more  decisively  been  maintained 
by  Dr.  Farmer. 

Thus  far  Mr.  Dennis  pursued  his  critical  inquiries  without 
giving  any  peculiar  otlence.    He  might,  indeed,  occasionally 
deliver  with  freedom  his  sentiments  concerning  the  writings 
of  his  contemporaries,  and  in  some  few  instances  might  ex- 
press himself  with  severity.   But  still  he  did  not  run  into  such 
excesses  as  to  bring  on  any  material  personal  controversy, 
until  in  1711,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  Spec- 
tator, he  entered  into  a  contest  with  Addison,   Steele,  and 
Pope.     He   imagined  himself  to  be  attacked  so  early  as  in 
the  second  or  third  number  of  that  paper ;  and  was  parti- 
cularly displeased  with  the  thirty-ninth  and  fortieth  num- 
bers,  in  which   a  doctrine  was  advanced,  with   regard  to 
poetical  justice,  very  different   from  what  he   had  always 
maintained.     Accordingly,  he  addressed  a   letter  to   the 
Spectator  on  the  subject,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  he 
says,  "  Thus — I  have  discussed    the  business  of  poetical 
justice,   and  shewn  it  to  be  the  foundation  of  all  tragedy ; 
and  therefore,  whatever  persons,  whether  ancient  or  moi 
dern,   have  written    dialogues   which   they  call   tragedies, 
where   this  justice   is  not   observed,  those  persons   have 

H  H  2 


468  1>  E  N  N  I  S. 

entertained  and  amused  the  world  with  romantic  lamentable 
tales,  instead  of  just  tragedies,  and  of  la-.vful  fables." 
That  our  critic  was  extremely  anxious  in  support  of  this 
point,  is  apparent  from  several  other  parts  of  his  works. 
He  has  particularly  insisted  upon  it  in  a  letter  to  sir  Richard 
Blackmure  on  the  moral  and  conclusion  of  an  epic  poem ; 
and  has  certainly  conducted  his  argument  with  great  in- 
genuity* Another  opportunity  which  the  Spectator  af- 
forded Mn  Dennis  for  the  exercise  of  his  critical  skill,  was 
by  the  illustrations  in  the  seventieth  and  seventy- fourth 
numbers  of  the  ballad  of  Chevy  Chase,  though  the  subject 
was  scarcely  important  enough  to  deserve  an  elaborate 
discussion  of  nearly  thirty  pages.  A  farther  attack  upon 
the  Spectator  was  particularly  levelled  at  sir  Richard 
Steele.  That  gentleman,  it  is  said,  had  promised  our 
critic  to  take  some  opportunity  of  mentioning  bis  works  iii 
public  with  advantage,  and  thereby  of  promoting  his  re- 
putation. It  however  unfortunately  happened,  that  Mr. 
Addison,  who  perhaps  knew  nothing  of  sir  Richard's  en- 
gagement, quoted,  in  his  paper  upon  Laughter,  the  two 
following  lines,  which  he  calls  humourous  and  well-ex- 
pressed, from  Mr.  Dennis's  translation  of  a  satire  of 
Boiieuu's : 

"  Thvis  one  fool  lolls  his  tongue  out  at  an-other, 
And  shakes  his  empty  noddle  at  his  brother." 

Mistaking  this  quotation  for  the  performance  of  sir  Richard 
Steele's  promise,  our  author  published  a  letter  to  the 
Spectator  full  of  resentment,  and  which  strongly  marks  the 
irritability  of  his  disposition.  What  particularly  displeased 
him  was,  that  some  far  superior  specimen  was  not  exhibited 
of  his  poetic  excellence  ;  and  he  pointed  out  a  passage  in 
his  poem  on  the  Battle  of  Ramillies,  which  he  thinks 
might  have  been  preferred  to  the  forementioned  couplet, 

Mr.  Dennis's  contest  with  the  Spectator  w«3  speedily 
followed  by  his  more  unfortunate  attack  upon  Mr.  Pope ; 
occasioned  by  the  publication  of  the  "  Essay  on  Criticism." 
In  that  essay  were  some  lines,  which  our  author  considered 
as  having  a  reference  to  himself,  and  wrote  a  pamj)hler, 
of  which  Dr.  Johnson  says,  that  it  is  such  as  rage  might  be 
expected  to  dictate.  Jn  a  few  instances  his  strictures  were 
just;  but  in  general  his  desire  to  do  mischief  was  greater 
than  his  power.  The  only  extenuation  of  the  personal 
abuse  he  threw  out  against  Air.  Fope  was  his  conviction  of 


DENNIS.  469 

that  gentleman's  having  given  the  first  ofTence.  "  Thus," 
observes  Dr.  Jolinson,  "  began  the  hostility  between  Pope 
and  Dennis,  wiiich,  thougli  suspended  for  a  short  time, 
never  was  appeased.  Pope  seems,  at  first,  to  have  attacked 
him  wantonly  ;  but,  though  he  always  professed  to  despise 
him,  he  discovers,  by  meuiioiiing  him  very  often,  that  he 
felt  his  force  or  Ids  venom."  Detuds  afterwards  criticized 
several  of  Mr.  Pope's  other  poems  ;  but  without  success  ; 
and  that  he  should  upon  that  account  have  a  place  assigned 
to  him  in  the  "Dunciad,"  is  no  more  than  what  might  liave 
been  expected.  He  took  his  revenge,  such  as  it  was,  by 
writing  against  the  "  Rape  of  the  Lock,"  remarking  that 
the  machinery  is  superfluous  ;  and  that,  by  all  the  bustle 
of  preternatural  operation,  the  main  event  is  rieither  has-^ 
tened  nor  retarded  ;  but  the  *'  Rape  of  the  Lock"  was  not 
to  be  thus  assailed,  and  Dennis  never  discharged  his  critical 
artillery  with  less  effect.  What,  indeed,  could  be  more 
ridiculous,  than  his  pretending  to  find  a  latent  meaning  in 
the  incidents  of  tl)is  inimitable  poem,  and  therefore  ac- 
cusing Pope  of  being  an  enemy  to  his  king  and  country? 
This,  however,  produced  a  piece  of  exquisite  humour, 
«  The  Key  to  the  Lock." 

In  1713,  Mr.  Addison's  Cato  was  produced  upon  the 
stage  with  a  degree  of  applause,  which,  we  believe,  was 
never  before  given  to  any  dramatic  composition.  But 
though  the  play  was  acted  in  the  cause  of  whiggism,  and 
Dennis  himself  was  so  zealous  a  whig,  he  could  not  bear 
the  success  with  which  it  was  attended.  Tliat  in  this  he 
was  actuated  by  personal  animosity,  cannot  be  denied  ; 
since  it  is  acknowledged  by  himself,  in  a  letter  to  the  duke 
of  Buckingham,  that  the  motive  which  induced  him  to 
write  his  remarks  upon  Cato  was,  liis  having  been  attacked 
in  several  numbers  of  the  Spectator.  His  principle  of 
action  we  condemn  ;  but  the  abilities  with  which  he  has 
executed  his  purpose  are  unquestionable,  "  He  found," 
says  Dr.  Johnson,  "and  shewed  many  faults  ;  he  shewed 
them,  indeed,  with  anger  ;  but  he  found  them  with  acute- 
ness,  such  as  ought  to  rescue  his  criticism  from  oblivion  ;" 
and  Dr.  Johnson  has  thought  a  large  extract  from  this 
pamphlet  worthy  of  transcription  into  his  Lite  of  Add. son, 
who  himself  maintained  a  profound  silence.  Pope,  how- 
ever, took  upon  him  to  avenge  his  cause,  in  a  pamphlet 
entitled  "  The  Narrative  of  Dr.  Robert  Norris,  concerning 
the  strange  and  deplorable  frenzy  of  Mr.  John  Dennis,  im 


470  DENNIS. 

officer  in  the  custom  house,"  a  piece  of  humour  which  does 
little  credit  to  Pope's  heart,  and  must  excite  the  disappro- 
bation of  every  benevolent  mind.  Pope,  however,  left 
Dennis's  objections  to  Cato  in  their  full  force,  "  and 
therefore  discovered  more  desire  of  vexing  the  critic,  than 
of  defending  the  poet.  Addison,  who  was  no  stranger  to 
the  world,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  probably  saw  the  selfish- 
ness of  Pope's  friendship ;  and  resolving  that  he  should 
have  the  consequences  of  his  officiousness  to  himself,  in- 
formed Dennis  by  Steele,  that  he  was  sorry  for  the  insult ; 
and  that  whenever  he  should  think  fit  to  answer  his  re- 
marks, he  would  do  it  in  a  manner  to  which  nothing  could 
be  objected."  Mr.  Dennis,  having  been  successful  in  dis- 
playing the  faults  of  Cato,  with  regard  to  the  probability 
of  the  action,  and  the  reasonableness  of  the  plan,  proceed- 
ed, in  the  pride  of  conquest,  to  attack  the  sentiments  of  the 
play  in  seven  letters.  But  here  his  strictures  are,  in  gene- 
ral, trifling  and  insignificant;  containing  such  petty  cavils, 
and  minute  objections,  as  the  malignity  of  criticism,  united 
with  some  degree  of  sagacity,  might  be  capable  of  exer- 
cising against  the  most  perfect  productions  of  the  human 
mind. 

In  1718,  Mr.  Dennis  published,  in  two  volumes,  Svo, 
his  "  Select  Works  ;"  and  printed,  likewise,  in  the  same 
year,  by  subscription,  in  two  volumes,  large  8vo,  "  Ori- 
ginal Letters,  familiar,  moral,  and  critical,"  a  collection 
which  does  credit  to  our  author's  abilities.  Among  the 
pieces  not  yet  mentioned,  he  has  made  some  ingenious 
remarks  upon  the  vis  comica,  with  the  want  of  which  Te- 
rence was  charged  by  Julius  Caesar  ;  and  there  are  several 
other  disquisitions  that  are  not  unworthy  of  a  perusal.  In 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Jacob  Tonson,  senior,  on  the  conspiracy 
against  the  reputation  of  Mr.  Dryden,  our  author  has 
manifested  a  high  regard  for  the  honour  of  that  great  poet. 
The  character,  however,  which  Mr.  Dennis  gives  of  him- 
self, in  the  same  letter,  is  very  different  from  what  the 
public,  both  at  that  time  and  ever  since,  has  entertained. 
*'  Whatever,''  says  he,  "  the  mistaken  world  may  think,  I 
am  always  willing  to  be  pleased  ;  nay,  am  always  as  greedy 
of  pleasure  as  any  Epicurean  living  ;  and  whenever  I  am 
naturally  touched,  1  give  myself  up  to  the  first  impression, 
and  never  look  for  faults." 

The  relief  which  Mr.  Dennis  obtained  by  these  publica- 
tions,   though  considerable,  was  not  permanent.     Being 


DENNIS.  471 

much  distressed  very  near  the  close  of  his  life,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  act  a  play  for  his  beiieht,  and  Thomson,  Mallet, 
Mr.  Benjamin  Martin,  and  Pope,  took  the  lead  upon  the 
occasion.  7'he  play,  wliicli  was  "The  Provoked  Hus- 
band," was  represented  at  the  Little  Theatre  in  the  Hay- 
market,  December  18,  1733  ;  and  Pope  wrote  a  prologue, 
which  was  spoken  by  Theoptiiius  Cibber.  Dennis  had  at 
this  time  become  blind.  Mr.  Pope's  benevolence  was  not 
so  pure  as  could  be  wished  ;  for  his  prologue  was  through- 
out a  sneer  upon  the  poor  old  critic,  who  happily,  either 
from  vanity,  or  the  decay  of  his  intellects,  did  not  perceive 
its  tendency.  Warburton  styled  it  "  benevolent  irony.'* 
Mr.  Dennis  survived  this  assistance  only  twenty  days, 
dying  on  the  6th  of  January,  1733-4,  in  the  seventy- 
seventh  ^ear  of  liis  age. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Dennis  must  in  general  be  suffi- 
ciently apparent  from  what  has  already  been  said.  Ill- 
nature  has  been  ascribed  to  him  with  too  much  shew  of 
reason ;  though  perhaps  it  belonged  to  him  more  as  a  writer 
than  as  a  man.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend  he  has  endeavoured 
to  vindicate  himself  from  the  charge  ;  but  not,  we  think, 
with  entire  success.  This  at  least  is  certain,  from  several 
transactions,  that  he  was  very  nritable  in  his  temper.  Till 
he  was  five  and  forty,  he  was  intimately  conversant  with 
the  first  men  of  tlie  age,  both  with  respect  to  rank  and 
abilities ;  and  wlien  he  retired  from  tlie  world,  he  con- 
tinued to  preserve  some  honourable  coimections.  Such  was 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  that  he  experienced  the 
patronage  of  gentlemen  whose  political  principles  were 
extremely  different  from  his  own.  George  Granville,  esq. 
in  particular,  afterwards  lord  Lansdowne,  behaved  to  him 
with  distinguished  generosity,  as  did  the  earl  of  Pembroke, 
bishop  Atterbury,   and  sir  Robert  Walpole. ' 

DENNY  (Sir  Anthony),  knt.  one  of  the  gentlemen  of 
the  privy  chamber  to  king  Henry  VIll.,  was  the  second 
son  of  Thomas  Denny,  of  Cheshunt,  in  the  county  of 
Hertford,  esq.  by  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Man- 
nock.  He  had  his  education  in  St.  Paul's  school,  London, 
under  the  celebtated  grammarian  Lilly  ;  and  afterwards 
in  St.  John's  college,  Cambridge  ;  in  both  which  places 

*  Biog.  Brit. — Dr.  Johnson's  Works,  and  Bowles's  edition  of  Pope's  Works  j 
see  Indexes. — Maione's  Life  of  Dryden,  vol.  I.  p.  340. — Nichols's  Atterbury. — 
■Gent.  Mag,  XXXVIII.  .563.  LXV.  105. — See  an  ingenious  but  more  unfavour- 
able sketch  of  Dennis's  chara«^er,  in  D'Israeli's  "  Calamities  of  AultioK." 


472  DENNY. 

be  so  improved  himself,  that  he  became  an  excellent 
scholar,  as  well  as  a  person  of  great  worth.  His  merit 
having  made  him  known  at  court,  he  was  constituted  by 
Henry  VIII.  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  bed-chamber, 
groom  of  the  stole,  and  a  privy  counsellor;  and  likewise 
received  the  honour  of  knighthood  from  that  prince  ;  with 
whom  being  in  great  favour*,  he  raised -a  considerable 
estate  on  the  ruins  of  the  dissolved  monasteries.  In  1537, 
Henry  gave  him  the  priory  of  Hertford,  together  with 
divers  other  lands  and  manors;  and  in  1539,  Dec.  15,  the 
office  of  steward  of  the  manor  of  Bedwell  and  Little  Berk- 
hamstead,  in  Herts  ;  besides  which  sir  Anthony  also  ob- 
tained the  manor  of  Butterwick,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Peter 
in  St.  Alban's,  the  manors  of  the  rectory  and  of  the  nun- 
nery, in  the  parish  of  Cheshunt;  and  of  Great  Amwell,  all 
in  the  county  of  Hertford.  In  1541,  there  was  a  large 
grant  made  to  him  by  act  of  parliament,  of  several  lands  that 
had  belonged  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Alban's,  lately  dissolved  ; 
and  not  content  with  ail  this,  he  found  means  to  procure  a 
thirty- one  years'  lease  of  the  many  large  and  rich  demesnes 
that  had  been  possessed  by  Waltham-abbey,  in  Essex  ;  of 
which  his  lady  purchased  afterwards  the  reversion.  In 
1544  the  king  gave  him  the  advantageous  wardship  of  Mar- 
garet, the  only  daughter  and  heir  of  Thomas  lord  Audlej', 
deceased.  On  the  31st  of  August,  1546,  he  was  com- 
missioned, with  John  Gate  and  William  Clerk,  esquires, 
to  sign  all  warrants  in  the  king's  name.  Though  some- 
what rapacious,  he  was  liberal ;  in  this  reign  he  did  emi- 
nent service  to  the  great  school  of  Sedberg  in  Yorkshire, 
belonging  to  the  college  wherein  he  had  received  his  edu- 
cation ;  the  building  being  fallen  to  decay,  and  the  lands 
appropriated  thereto  sold  and  embezzled,  he  caused  the 
school  to  be  repaired,  and  not  only  recovered,  but  also 
settled  the  estate  so  firmly,  as  to  prevent  all  future  aliena- 
tions. He  was  also  a  more  faithful  servant  than  his  brother 
courtiers,  for  when  Henry  VIII.  was  on  his  death-bed,  he 
had  the  courage  to  put  him  in  mind  of  his  approaching 
end,  and  desired  him  to  raise  Ips  thoughts  to  heaven,  to 
think  of  his  past  life,  and  to  call  on  God  for  mercy  through 

*  At  the  sale  of  the  earl  of  Arran's  esq.  for  22/.  Is.  ;  and  the  mittens  given 
curiosities  in  1759,  tiie  gloves  given  by  queen  Elizabeth  lo  sir  F.dward  Den- 
by  Heniy  VIII.  to  sir  Autliony,  were  ny'.<  lady,  for  25/.  4f.  All  these  were 
sold  for  38/.  ils.;  the  tcloves  given  by  purchased  for  sir  Thomas  Denny,  of 
K.  Jame«  I.  to  his  son  lidward  Denny,  Iiclaud,  a  lineal  descendant. 


D  E  N  N  Y.  473 

Jesus  Christ.  So  great  an  opinion  had  that  capricious  mo- 
narch of  him,  that  he  appointed  him  one  of  the  executors 
of  liis  will,  and  one  of  the  counsellors  to  his  son  and  suc- 
cessor Edward  VI.  and  bequeatUed  him  a  legacy  of  300/, 
He  did  not  hve  long  after  this;  for  he  died  in  1530.  By 
his  wife  Joan,  daughter  of  sir  Philip  Champernon,  of  Mod- 
bury,  in  Devonshire,  a  lady  of  great  beauty  and  parts,  he 
had  six  children  ;  of  whom,  Henry,  the  eldest,  was  father 
of  Edward  Denny,  knighted  in  1589,  summoned  to  par- 
liament in  1605,  and  advanced  Oct.  24,  162G,  to  the  dig- 
nity of  earl  of  Norwich.  Of  sir  Anthony  Denny's  personal 
character,  one  of  hTs  contemporaries  informs  us,  that  his 
whole  time  and  cares  were  employed  about  religion, 
learning,  and  the  care  of  the  public,  and  has  highly  com- 
mended him  for  his  prudence  and  humanity.  He  was  the 
early  friend  and  patron  of  IVIatthew  Parker,  al'terwards  arch- 
bishop  of  Canterbury.  The  learned  Henr}'  Howard,  earl 
ot  Surrey,  wrote  an  excellent  epitaph  for  him  some  years 
before  his  decease;  and  sir  John  Cliekc,  who  had  a  great 
esteem  for  him,  honoured  his  memory  with  an  elegant  he- 
roic poem.' 

DENORES  (Jason),  was  born  at  Nicosia,  in  the  island  of 
Cyprus,  of  one  of  the  principal  families  in  that  country, 
and  which,  according  to  his  account,  was  originally  from 
Normandy.  When  Cyprus  was  taken  by  the  Turks  in 
1570,  he  lost  all  his  property,  and  retired  into  Italy,  where 
he  had  before  made  some  stay  ;  and,  settling  at  Padua, 
^was  appointed  professor  of  moral  philosophy,  1577.  He 
died  in  that  city,  1590,  of  grief,  occasioned  by  the  ba- 
nishment of  his  only  son,  who  had  killed  a  noble  Venetian 
in  a  quarrel.  Denores  was  well  acquainted  with  the  pe- 
ripatetic philosophy,  and  had  a  superstitious  veneration 
for  Aristotle.  He  engaged  in  a  dispute  with  Guarini  about 
pastoral  tragi-comedies,  and  published  a  great  number  of 
his  own  works ;  some  in  Latin,  some  in  Italian.  Possevin 
esteems  his  rhetoric.  His  Italian  works  are,  "  Poetica," 
Padua,  1588,  4to;  "  Dell'ottima  republica,"  Venice,  1578, 
4to,  which  he  models  by  that  of  Venice.  "  Del  Mondo,'* 
Venice,  1571,  8vo ;  "  Delia  Retorica,"  Venice,  1584, 
4to.  His  Latin  works  are,  "  Institutio  in  Philosophiani 
Ciceronis,"  Patavii,   1576^  8vo;   "  De  arte  dicendi,"   Ve- 

»  Biop.  Brit.— Knighfs  Life  of  Colet,  p,  392.— Strype's  Life  of  Parker,  p.  22. 
—  Ajinual  Register  for  1759,  p.  Si. 


474  D  E  N  O  R  E  S. 

netiis,*'  1553,  8vo;  Parisiis,  1554,  8vo.  "  De  Consti- 
tutione  Philosophiae  Aristotelis,"  Patavii,  1584,  4to ;  and 
"  In  Epistolam  Q,.  Horatii  de  Arte  Poetica,"  Venice,  1553, 
8vo ;  Paris,  1554,  8vo,  the  first  and  preferable  edition, 
but  both  are  very  rare. ' 

DENTON  (John),  an  English  divine,  author  of  some 
small  controversial  pieces,  was  born  in  1625,  and  educated 
at  Clare-hall,  Cambridge,  and  was  admitted  sizar  and 
pupil  to  Mr.  David  Clarkson,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1646,  as 
appears  from  the  register  of  the  college.  He  was  ejected 
by  the  act  of  uniformity  in  1662,  from  the  living  of  Os- 
waldkirk,  near  Helmsley,  in  Yorkshire,  and  not  from  that 
of  Bolton,  as  Dr.  Calamy  affinns  in  his  account,  p.  818, 
who  has  rectified  that  mistake  in  his  Continuation,  p.  950, 
though,  as  it  seems,  without  knowing  that  it  was  a  mis- 
take, it  being  indeed  Mr.  Nathan,  and  not  Mr.  John  Den- 
ton, who  was  ejected  from  Bolton  upon  Dearn,  or  more 
properly  Darwent.  Mr.  John  Denton  afterwards  con- 
formed ;  and  being  re-ordained  by  Dr.  Thomas  Barlow, 
bishop  of  Lincoln,  was  collated  to  the  living  of  Stonegrave, 
within  two  miles  of  Oswaldkirk,  and  a  prebend  of  the 
church  of  York,  both  which  he  held  till  his  death,  January 
4,  1708,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age,  as  is  evident 
from  the  inscription  on  his  tomb-stone  in  the  church  of 
Stonegrave,  in  which  living  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Mr.  Robert  Denton,  who  was  educated  at  Catherine-hall, 
in  Cambridge,  and  died  about  1748.  Mr.  John  Denton 
having  contracted  an  intimate  friendship  with  Mr.  Tillot- 
son,  at  Clare- hall,  they  kept  up  a  constant  correspondence 
during  his  grace's  life." 

DENTON  (Thomas),  a  clergyman  who  is  entitled  to  a 
place  in  this  Dictionary,  as  having  been  a  contributor  to 
the  first  edition  of  it,  was  born  at  Sebergham,  in  Cumber- 
land, of  an  ancient  family,  in  1724,  and  was  educated 
under  the  rev.  Josiah  Ralph,  of  whose  poems  he  superin- 
tended a  handsome  edition  published  by  subscription. 
From  school  he  went  to  Queen's-college,  Oxford,  when 
be  took  his  master's  degree  June  16,  1752.  On  leaving 
college,  he  became  curate  to  the  rev.  Dr.  Graham,  of  Ne- 
therby,  at  Arthuret,  and  Kirkandrews;  and  here  he  printed 
a  local  poem,  entitled  "  Gariston,"  which  is  now  scarce, 

*  Moreri. — Niceron,  vol.  XL. — Diet.  Hist,  in  Nores» 
>  Birch's  Life  of  'i'illotson. 


DENTON.  475 

as  he  only  circulated  a  few  copies  among  his  friends.     In 
1753,   Dr.  Graham  removed  him  to  be  his  curate  at  Ashted, 
in  Surrey,  in  which  hvinjy,  upon  the  doctor's  resignation, 
Mr.  Denton  succeeded  him.      He  du'd  here  June  27,  1777, 
leaving  three  sons  and  four  daughters.     As  he  had  liad  no 
opportunity  to  make  much  provision  for  this  tamiiy,  the 
late  lord  Suffolk  generously  gave  nis  widow  the  next  pre- 
sentation to  the  living,   which  bounty  was  so  well  managed 
by  a  judicious  friend,  as  to  secure   a  very  comfortable  an- 
nuity to   lier  and  her  chiMren.     Mr.  Denton  was  a  man  of 
unassuming,   motlest  manners  ;  serene  and   placid,   rather 
than  cheerful  ;  and  a  facetious   man,  rather  than  a  man  of 
humour.     In  discharging  the  duties  of  his  profession,  he 
was  exemplarily   decent,  and  his  parishioners  loved  him 
when  living,  and  lamented  him  dead.      Eurly  in  life  he  re- 
formed, and  published  a  very  useful  manual  of  devotions, 
entitled  "  Religious  retirement  for  one  day  m  every  month,'* 
from  the  original  of  Gother,  a  popish  writer.     This  he  un- 
dertook "  to  free  from   the   peculiarities   of  the  Romish 
church,  and  to  fit  it  for  the  use  of  Protestants."     He  is, 
however,  better  known  by  two  well-written  poems,  "  Im- 
mortality, or  the  Consolation  of  human  life,  a  Monody,'* 
printed  separately  in  4to,    17  55,  and  afterwards  reprinted 
in   Dodsley's  Collection  ;  and  "  The  House  of  Supersti- 
tion,"   a  vision,    1762,    4to,    afterwards  prefixed  by   Mr. 
Gilpin  to  his  "  Lives  of  the  Reformers."     In  both  he  has 
proved  himself  no  unsuccessful  imitator  of  the  style  of 
Spen-^er.     He  also   compiled  the  supplemental  volume  to 
the  first  edition  of  the  Biographical  Dictionary,  in  which 
the  lives  are  given  with  equal  candour  and  accuracy.* 

DENTON  (William),  the  youngest  son  of  sir  T.  Den- 
ton, of  Hillesden,  in  Buckinghamshire,  was  born  at  Stow; 
in  April  1605.  He  received  his  education  at  Magdalen- 
hall,  in  Oxford,  where  he  was  initiated  into  the  practice  of 
medicine,  under  Dr.  Henry  Ashworth.  In  1634  he  took 
his  degree  of  doctor,  and  going  to  reside  in  London,  he 
was  appointed  physician  to  the  king  Charles  I.  in  1636, 
and  attended  his  majesty  to  Scotland  in  1639.  During 
the  troubles  which  succeeded,  he  continued  to  practise  in 
London,  without  interfering  in  the  factions  of  the  time ; 
and  on  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  was  made  one  of  liis 
physicians  in  ordinary,  and  was  soon  after  admitted  fellow 

}  HtttsbinsoB's  Hist,  of  Cumberland,  yoI.  II.  p.  419. 


476  DENTON. 

of  the  college  of  physicians.  He  lived  to  the  accession  of 
king  William  and  queen  Mary,  to  whom,  in  168y,  he  de- 
dicated "  Jus  Regiminis,"  being  a  justification  of  defen- 
sive arms  in  general,  shewing  that  the  revolution  was  the 
just  right  of  the  kingdom.  He  died  at  his  house  in  Covent- 
garden,  on  the  9th  of  May,  1691,  and  was  buried  at  Hilles- 
den.  His  daughter  was  married  to  George  Nicholas,  son  of 
sir  Edward  Nicholas,  sometime  secretary  of  state  under  the 
kings  Charles  I.  and  H.  His  works  are  all  on  political  sub- 
jects :  1.  *'  HoriE  Subsecivae,  or  a  treatise  shewing  the  origi- 
nal, grounds,  reasons,  and  provocations,  necessitating  our 
sanguinary  Laws  against  Papists,  made  in  the  days  of  queen 
Elizabeth,"  1664,  4to.  2.  "  The  Burnt  Child  dreads  the 
Fire,  or  an  examination  of  the  merits  of  the  Papists,  relating 
to  England,  mostly  from  their  own  pens,  in  justification 
of  the  late  act  of  parliament  for  preventing  dangers  which 
may  happen  from  popish  recusants,"  London,  1675,  4to. 
3.  "  Jus  Cffisaris  et  Ecclesia?  vere  dicta^,"  1681,  fol.  to 
which  he  added,  on  a  single  sheet,  *'  An  Apology  for  the 
Liberty  of  the  Press." ' 

D'EON  (Chevalier  de).  This  extraordinary  person, 
who  is  styled  in  the  register  of  St.  Pancras,  where  be  was 
buried,  Charles  Genevieve  Louise  Auguste  Andre 
TiMOTHEE  D'e  )N  DE  Beaumont,  is  uow  known  to  have 
been  the  son  of  a  gentleman  of  an  ancient  and  respectable 
family  at  Tonnerre  in  Burgundy,  where  he  was  born  Oct. 
2,  1728.  Although  the  register  of  his  baptism,  which 
bears  date  Oct.  5,  distinctly  states  the  child  to  have  been 
a  male,  some  have  conceived  that  the  sex  was  originally 
doubtful,  and  that  j'amily  reasons  induced  the  parents,  who 
had  not  long  before  the  birth  of  the  chevalier  lost  their 
then  only  son,  to  educate  the  infant  as  one  of  that  sex  to 
which  nature  eventually  proved  that  he  belonged.  In  the 
early  part  of  his  life,  he  was  educated  under  his  father's 
roof,  whence  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  was  removed  to 
the  Mazarin  college  at  Paris.  He  had  scarcely  finished 
bis  studies,  when  the  sudden  death  of  his  father,  and  of  an 
uncle  from  whom  the  family  had  great  expectations,  left 
him  doubly  an  orphan,  and  threw  him  on  the  world  de- 
pendent on  his  own  exertions  for  advancement.  He  was, 
however,  at  this  period  fortunate  in  obtaining  the  patron- 
age of  the  prince  de  Conti,  who  had  long  known   and 

>  Atb.  Ox.  vol.  II. 


D'E  O  N.  477 

esteemed  his  father,  and  by  the  prince's  means  was  intro- 
duced to  Louis  XV.  who  presented  him  with  a  cornetcy  of 
dragoons.  Soon  after  this  D'Eon  was  placed  in  the  otHce 
of  mons.  Bertier  de  Savigny,  intendant  of  the  generalitd 
of  Paris,  where  he  gave  great  satisfaction  to  his  superiors, 
by  the  industry  and  talent  he  displayed  in  the  office,  and 
gained  considerable  credit  by  one  or  two  small  publications 
on  finance. 

In  1755  he  was  emploj^ed  under  the  chevalier  Douglas, 
in  transactintr  a  nejiociation  of  the  most  delicate  and  ini- 
portant  nature  at  the  court  of  Petersburgh,  by  which,  after 
many  years  suspension  of  all  intercourse,  a  reconciliation 
was  effected  between  the  courts  of  France  and  Russia. 
After  some  years  residence  at  Petersburgh,  D'Eon  joined 
his  regiment,  then  serving  under  marshal  Broglio  on  the 
Rhine,  and  during  the  campaign  of  1762,  acted  as  aid-du- 
camp  to  that  celebrated  officer.  When  the  duke  de  Ni- 
vernois  came  over  to  England,  as  ambassador,  to  negociate 
the  peace  of  1763,  D'Eon  appeared  as  his  secretary  ;  and 
so  far  procured  the  sanction  of  the  government  of  England, 
that  he  was  requested  to  carry  over  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  between  the  British  court  and  that  of  Versailles,  in 
consequence  of  which  the  French  king  invested  him  with 
the  order  of  St.  Louis.  He  had  also  behaved,  in  the  cha- 
racter of  secretary,  so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  duke, 
that  that  nobleman,  upon  his  departure  for  France,  in 
Way  1763,  procured  D'Eon  to  be  appointed  minister-ple- 
nipotentiary in  his  room.  In  October  following,  however, 
the  count  de  Guerchy  having  arrived  here  as  ambassador 
from  the  court  of  Versailles,  tlie  chevalier  received  orders, 
or  rather  was  requested,  to  act  as  secretary  or  assistant  to 
the  new  ambassador.  This,  we  are  told,  mortified  him  to 
such  a  degree,  that,  asserting  that  the  letter  of  recall, 
which  accompanied  it,  was  a  forgery,  he  refused  to  deliver 
it;  and  by  this  step  drew  on  himself  the  censure  of  his 
court.  On  this,  either  with  a  view  of  exculpating  him- 
self, or  from  a  motive  of  revenge,  he  published  a  succinct 
account  of  all  the  ne<TOciations  in  which  he  had  been  en- 
gaged,  exj)osed  some  secrets  of  the  French  court,  and 
rather  than  spare  his  enemies,  revealed  some  things  greatly 
to  the  prcjuJice  of  his  best  friemls.  Among  other  persons 
very  freei}-  treated  in  this  publication  was  the  count  de 
Guerchy,  for  which  D'Eon  was  prosecuted  and  convicted 
in  the  court  of  King's  Betich,  in  July  1764'. 


478  D'E  O  N. 

It  was  but  natural  that  this  conduct  should  draw  down 
the  resentment  of  the  court  of  France,  and  the  chevalier 
either  feared  or  affected  to  fear  the  greatest  danger  to  his 
person.  Reports  were  spread,  very  probably  by  himself, 
that  persons  were  sent  over  here  to  apprehend  him  secretly, 
and  carry  him  to  France.  On  this  occasion  be  wrote  four 
letters,  complaining  of  these  designs,  as  known  to  him  by 
undoubted  authority.  The  one  he  sent  to  lord  chief  justice 
Mansfield,  the  second  to  the  earl  of  Bute,  the  third  to 
carl  Temple,  and  the  fourth  to  Mr.  Pitt.  Of  these  per- 
sonages he  requested  to  know,  whether,  as  he  had  con- 
tracted no  debt,  and  behaved  himself  in  all  things  as  a  du- 
tiful subject,  he  might  not  kill  the  first  man  who  should 
attempt  to  arrest  him,  &lc.}  In  March  1764  he  took  a 
wiser  step  to  provide  for  his  safety,  if  there  had  been  any 
cause  for  his  fears,  by  indicting  the  count  de  Guerchy  for 
a  conspiracy  against  his  life,  but  this  came  to  nothing;  and 
the  chevalier,  not  having  surrendered  himself  to  the  court 
of  King's-bench  to  receive  judgment  for  the  libel  on  the 
count  de  Guerchy,  was,  in  June  1765,  declared  outlawed. 
The  chevalier,  however,  still  continued  in  England  until 
the  death  of  Louis  XV. 

About  the  year  1771,  certain  doubts  respecting  his  sejr, 
which  had  previously  been  started  at  Petersburgh,  became 
the  topic  of  conversation,  and,  as  usual  in  this  country, 
the  subject  of  betting;  and  gambling  policies  of  assurance 
to  a  large  amount  were  effected  on  his  sex  ;  and  in  1775, 
more  policies  on  the  same  question  were  effected.  In 
July  1777,  an  action  was  brought  on  one  of  these  before 
lord  Mansfield.  The  plaintiff  was  one  Hayes,  a  surgeon, 
and  the  defendant  Jaques  a  broker,  for  the  recovery  of 
lOOL;  Jacques  having  sonie  time  before  received  premiumi 
of  fifteen  guineas  pei'  cent,  for  every  one  of  which  he  stood 
engaged  to  return  an  hundred,  whenever  it  should  be 
proved  that  the  chevalier  was  a  woman.  Two  persons, 
Louis  Le  Goux,  a  surgeon,  a>id  de  Morande,  the  editor  of 
a  French  newspaper,  positively  swore  that  D'Eon  was  a 
woman.  The  defendant's  counsel  pleaded  that  the  plain- 
tiff, at  the  time  of  laying  the  wager,  was  privy  to  the  fact, 
and  thence  inferred  that  the  w;iger  was  unfair.  Lord 
Mansfield,  however,  held  that  the  wager  was  fair,  but  ex- 
pressed his  abhorrence  of  the  whole  transaction.  No  at- 
tempt having  been  made  to  contradict  the  evidence  of  the 
chevalier's  being  a  woman,  which  is  now  known  to  be 


D  '  E  O  N.  479 

false,  Hayes  obtained  a  verdict  with  costs.     But  the  mat- 
ter was  afterwards  solemnly  argued  before  lord  Mansfield 
in  the  court  of  King's-bench,  and  the  defendant  pleading 
a  late  act  of  parliament  for  non-payment,  it  was  admitted 
to  be  binding,  by   which  decision   all  the  insurers  in  this 
shameful  transaction  were  deprived  of  their  expected  gains. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  chevalier,  who  was  now  universally- 
regarded  as  a  woman,  was  accused  by  his  enemies  as  hav- 
ing been  an  accomplice   in   these  gambling  transactions, 
and  a  partaker  of  the  plunder.     In  consequence  of  repeated 
attacks   of  this  nature   he   left   England   in  August   1777, 
having  previously  asserted  in  a  newspaper  his  innocence  of 
the  fraud,  and  referred  to  a  former  notice,  inserted  by 
him  in  the  papers  in  1775,  in  which   he  had  cautioned  all 
persons  concerned  not  to  pay  any  sums  due  on  the  policies 
which  had  been  effected  on  the  subject  of  his  sex,  and  de- 
clared that  he  would  controvert  the  evidence  exhibited  on 
the  above  trial,  if  his  master  should  give  him  leave  to  re- 
turn to  England.     It  is  in  vain  now  to  inquire   why  he 
should  delay  for   a  moment  disproving   what  a  moment 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  disprove- 
On  his  return  to  France,  however,  we  find  him  confirm- 
ing the  rumours  against  him  by  assuming  the  female  dress. 
In  excuse  for  this  we  are  told  that  this  was  not  a  matter  of 
choice,  but  insisted  on  by  the  French  court,  and  submitted 
to  on   his  part  with   much  reluctance.      Monstrous  as  this 
absurdity  seems  to  be  on  the  part  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, it  is  now  ascertained  tliat  whilst  the  business  of  the 
policies  was  going  on  in  this  country,  the  celebrated  Carou 
de  Beaumarchais  was  actually  employed  by  that  govern- 
ment in  negociating  with  D'Eon,  not  only  for  the  delivery 
of  some  state-papers  in  his  possession,  and  his  return  to 
France,  but  for  the  immediate  assumption  of  the  female 
dress  and  character.     When  D'Eon  returned  to  France,  he 
shewed  no  disposition  to  comply  with  the  wishes  or  injunc- 
tions of  his  royal  master,  but  continued  for  some  time  to 
wear  the  military  uniform  ;  and  it  was  not  till  after  an  im- 
prisonment of  some  weeks  in  the  castle  of  Dijon,   that  the 
apprehension  of  consequences  still  more  unpleasant,  and 
on  the  other  hand,  a  promise  of  the  most  substantial  marks 
of  court  lavour,  induced  him  to  assume  the  female  charac- 
ter and  garb,  which  having  once  adopted,  he  ever  after 
contiimed  to  support,  maintaining  the  most  inviolable  se- 
crecy on  the  subject  of  his  sex  to  the  day  of  his  death.     Id 


480  D '  E  O  N. 

consequence  of  this  compliance  with  the  pleasure  of  his 
court,  tlie  pension  formerly  «rranted  by  Louis  XV.  was 
continued,  with  permission  to  retain  the  cross  of  St.  Louis  ; 
a  most  flattering  acknowledgment  was  made  of  past  ser- 
vices, civil  and  military,  and  the  metamorphosed  chevalier 
was  even  appointed  to  a  situation  in  the  household  of  the 
queen  of  France. 

In  17S5  he  returned  to  England,  where  he  continued  to 
reside  till  his  death.      He  was  deprived  of  his  pension  in 
consequence  of  the  French  revolution,  although  in  June 
1792,  he  presented  a  petition  to  the  national  assembly  (as 
madame  D'Eon)  desiring  to  be  employed  in  their  service  as  a 
soldier,  to  have  his  seniority  in  the  army,  and  permission  to 
raise  a  legion  of  volunteers  for  the  service  of  his  country. 
This  petition  was  probably  disregarded,  as  he  remained  in 
England,  where  his  circumstances  became  embarrassed.    For 
a  few  years  he  gained  a  subsistence  by  the  sale  of  part  of 
his  effects,  and  by  a  public  exhibition  of  his  skill  in  fencing, 
which  was  the  greater  object  of  curiosity,  from  the  general 
belief  that  it  was  a  female  j)erforniance.    When  incapable  of 
these  exertions  by  years  and  iniirmities,  he  was  relieved  by 
occasional  contributions.     For  the  two  last  years,  he  scarcely 
ever  quitted  his  bed,  his  health  gradually  declined,  and  at 
length  an  extreme  state  of  debility  ensued,  which  terminated 
in  his  death,  May  21,  1810,     Immediately  after,  the  corpse 
being  examined  by  professional  gentlemen  and  others,  was 
discovered  to  be  that  of  a  man,  yet  it  is  said  that  there 
%vere  peculiarities  in  his  person  which  rendered  the  doubts 
that  had  so  long  subsisted  respecting  his  sex  the  less  ex- 
traordinary, and  appeared  to  have  given  facility  to  his  oc- 
casional assumption  of  the  female  character  before  his  final 
adoption  of  it.     He  had   assumed  the  female  character  at 
Petersburg!!  for  the  purposes  of  political  intrigue  about  the 
year  1750,   when  only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  had 
occasionally  adopted  it  during  his  first  residence  in  Eng- 
land ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  all  this  will  be  sufl^i- 
cient  to  explain  the  mysteries  of  the  chevalier's  conduct, 
or  the  more  stranije  contluct  of  the  court  of  France.     The 
chevalier  D'Eon,   who  was  distinguished  as  a  scholar,  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  ancient  and  most  of  the  modern 
languages,  had  a  very  valuable  library,   part  of  which  he 
sold  for  the  relief  of  his  necessities,  and  part  has  been  sold 
since  his  death.     His  works  according  to  the  Diet.  Histo- 
rique  are:   1.  "  JVlemoires,"   8vo  and   4to,  relative  to  his 


D'E  O  N.  481 

disputes  with  the  count  de  Guercliy.  2.  "  Histoire  des 
Papes."  3.  "  Histoire  politique  de  la  Pologne."  4.  "  Ke- 
cherches  sur  les  royaumes  de  Naples  et  de  Sicile."  5.  "  Re- 
cherches  sur  le  Commerce  et  la  Navigation."  6.  "  Pensees 
sur  le  Celibat,  et  les  maux  qu'il  cause  a  la  France," 
against  the  celibacy  of  the  French  clergy.  7.  "  JVIemoires 
sur  la  Russia  et  son  Commerce  avec  les  Angloi^" 
8.  *'  Histoire  d'Eudoxie  Fcederona,"  9.  "  Observations 
sur  le  royaume  d'Angleterre,  son  government,  ses  grands 
olficiers,"  &.c.  10.  "  Details  sur  I'Ecosse,  sur  les  posses- 
sions de  I'Angleterre  en  Amerique."  1,1.  "  Sur  la  re'^ie 
de  bles  en  France,  les  mendians,  les  domains  des  rois,'* 
&c.  12.  "  Details  sur  toutes  les  Parties  des  Finances  de 
France."  13.  "Situation  de  la  France  dans  I'lnde  avant 
la  paix  de  1763."  14.  '*  Loisirs  du  Chevalier  D'Eon,'* 
1775,  13  vols.  8vo,  a  brief  statistical  account  of  the  prin- 
cipal countries  in  Europe.  He  left  behind  some  MSS. 
among  which  are  ample  materials  for  a  life  of  himself. 
These  are  now  in  the  hands  of  a  gentleman  who  is  prepa- 
ring them  for  publication,  and  who  communicated  some 
particulars  to  Mr.  Lysons,  of  which  we  have  partly  availed 
ourselves  in  this  sketch.  This  intended  biographer  con- 
cludes a  very  favourable  character  of  the  chevalier  in  these 
words  ;  "  In  religion,  Tvlons.  D'Eon  was  a  sincere  catholic, 
but  divested  of  all  bigotry  :  few  were  so  well  acquainted 
with  the  biblical  writings,  or  devoted  more  time  to  the 
study  of  religious  subjects.  The  shades  in  his  character 
were,  the  most  inflexible  tenacity  of  disposition,  and  a 
great  degree  of  pride  and  self-opinion;  a  general  distrust 
and  suspicion  of  others  ;  and  a  violence  of  temper  which 
could  brook  no  opposition.  To  these  failings  may  be 
traced  the  principal  misfortunes  of  his  life  ;  a  life  in  which 
there  was  much  labour  and  suffering,  mixed  with  very  lit- 
tle repose." — The  French  editor  of  his  life,  in  noticing  the 
poverty  in  which  he  died,  adds,  that  it  does  him  the  more  ho- 
nour as  he  had  refused  the  offers  of  the  English  government 
to  turn  their  manifestoes  against  his  country  into  French.* 

DEPARCIEUX.     See  PARCIEUX. 

DERHAM  (William),  an  excellent  philosopher  and 
divine,  was  born  at  Stoughton  near  Worcester,  Nov.  26, 
1657;  and  educated  in  grammar-learning  at  Blockley  ia 

'  Lysons's  Supplemental  Volume  te  the  Environs— Gent.  Mag.  vol.  LXXX, 
and  see  Index. — Diet.  HisU 

Vol.  XL  I  j 


4S2  D  E  R  H  A  M. 

that  county.  In  May  1675  lie  was  admitted  of  Trinity 
college,  Oxford  ;  and  when  he  took  his  degree  of  B.  A. 
was  already  distinguished  for  his  learning  and  exemplary 
character.  He  was  ordained  deacon  by  Compton  bishop 
of  London,  in  May  1681  ;  priest  by  Ward  bishop  of  Salis- 
bury, in  July  1682  ;  and  was  the  same  month  presented  to 
the  vicarage  of  Wargrave  in  Berkshire.  August  1689,  he 
was  presented  to  the  valuable  rectory  of  Upminster  in 
Essex  :  which  living,  lying  at  a  moderate  distance  from 
London^  aftorded  him  an  opportunity  of  conversing  and 
corresponding  with  the  most  eminent  philosophers  of  the 
nation.  Here  in  a  retirement  suitable  to  his  contempla- 
tive and  philosophical  temper,  he  applied  himself  with 
great  eagerness  to  the  study  of  nature,  and  to  mathematics 
and  experimental  philosophy  ;  in  which  he  became  so 
eminent,  that  in  1702  he  was  chosen  F.  R.  S.  He  proved 
one  of  the  most  useful  and  industrious  members  of  this 
society,  frequently  publishing  in  the  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions curious  observations  and  valuable  pieces,  as  may 
be  seen  by  their  Index.  In  his  younger  years  he  published 
separately,  "  The  artificial  Clock-maker  ;  or,  a  treatise  of 
watch  and  clock-work,  shewing  to  the  meanest  capacities 
the  art  of  calculating  numbers  to  all  sorts  of  movements  ; 
the  way  to  alter  clock-work  ;  to  make  chimes,  and  set 
them  to  musical  notes ;  and  to  calculate  and  correct  the 
motion  of  pendulums.  Also  numbers  for  divers  move- 
ments :  with  the  ancient  and  modern  history  of  clock- 
work ;  and  many  instruments,  tables,  and  other  matters, 
never  before  published  in  any  other  book."  The  fourth 
edition  of  this  book,  with  large  emendations,  was  publish- 
ed in  1734,  12mo.  In  1711  and  1712  he  preached  "  Six- 
teen Sermons"  at  Boyle's  lectures  ;  which,  with  suitable 
alterations  in  the  form,  and  notes,  he  published  in  1713 
under  the  title  "  Physico-theology ;  or,  a  demonstration  of 
the  beino-  and  attributes  of  God  from  his  works  of  crea- 
tion,"  8vo.  In  pursuance  of  the  same  design,  he  published, 
in  1714,  "Astro-theology;  or,  a  demonstration  of  the  be- 
ing and  attributes  of  God  from  a  survey  of  the  heavens," 
illustrated  with  copper-plates,  8vo.  These  works,  the 
former  especially,  have  been  highly  and  justly  valued, 
translated  into  French  and  several  other  languages,  and 
have  undergone  several  editions.  In  1716  he  was  made  a 
canon  of  Windsor,  being  at  that  time  chaplain  to  the  prince 
of  Wales  ;  and  in  1730  received  the  degree  of  D.  D.  from 


D  E  R  II  A  M.  483 

the  university  of  Oxford  by  diploma,  on  account  of  his 
learning,  and  the  services  lie  had  done  to  religion  by  his 
culture  of  natural  knowledge — "  Ob  libros,"  as  tbe  terms 
of  the  diploma  run,  "  ab  ipso  editos,  quibus  physicam  & 
mathesin  auctiorem  reddidit,  &  ad  religionem  veramque 
fidem  exornandam  revocavit."  When  Eleazer  Albin  pub- 
lisbed  his  natural  history  of  birds  and  English  insects,  in 
4  vols.  4to,  with  many  beautiful  cut.--,  it  was  accompanied 
with  very  curious  notes  and  observations  by  our  learned 
author.  He  also  revised  tlie  "  Miscellanea  Curiosa,"  pub- 
lished in  three  volumes,  1726,  8vo.  He  next  published 
"  Christo-theology ;  or,  a  demonstration  of  the  divine  au- 
thority of  the  Christian  religion,  being  the  substance  of  a 
sermon  preached  at  Batli,  Nov.  2,  172y,  and  published  at 
the  earnest  request  of  the  ap.ditory,  17^0,"  8vo.  The  last 
work  of  his  own  composition  was  "  A  Defence  of  the 
Churches  right  in  Leasehold  Estates.  In  answer  to  a  book 
called  'An  Inquiry  into  the  customary  estates  and  Tenant- 
Rights  of  those  who  hold  lands  of  tbe  Church  and  othfr 
Foundations,'  published  under  the  name  of  Everard  Fleet- 
wood, esq."  1731,  8vo.  But,  besides  his  own,  he  pub- 
lished some  pieces  of  Mr.  Ray,  and  gave  new  editions  of 
others,  with  great  additions  from  the  author's  own  MSS. 
To  him  the  world  is  likewise  indebted  for  the  "  Philoso- 
phical Experiments  and  observations  of  the  late  eminent 
Dr.  Robert  Hooke,  and  other  eminent  virtuosos  in  his 
time,  1726,"  8vo;  and  he  communicated  to  the  royal  so- 
ciety several  pieces,  which  he  received  from  his  learned 
correspondents. 

This  great  and  good  man  having  thus  spent  his  life,  makino- 
all  his  researches  subservient  to  the  cause  of  religion  and 
virtue,  died,  in  his  78th  year,  April  5,  P/SS,  at  Upminster, 
where  he  was  buried.  He  left  behind  him  a  valuable  col- 
lection of  curiosities  ;  among  the  rest,  a  specimen  of  in- 
sects, and  of  most  kinds  of  birds  in  this  island,  of  which  he 
had  preserved  the  male  and  female.  It  may  be  necessary 
just  to  observe,  that  Dr.  Derham  was  very  well  skilled  in 
medical  as  well  as  physical  knowledge  ;  and  was  constantly 
a  physician  to  the  bodies  as  well  as  souls  of  his  parishioners. 

The  late  Dr.  Kippis,  in  his  additions  to  the  life  of  this 
excellent  man,  says,  "  It  sometimes  happens  that  clergy- 
men of  the  greatest  wisdom,  learning,  and  merit,  are  far 
from  being  good  preachers.  Dr.  Derham  is  understood  to 
have  made  but  a  very  poor  figure  in  this  respect ;  and  to 

I  I  2 


484  D  E  R  II  A  M. 

his  other  defects  in  the  pulpit,  was  added  some  disadvan- 
tage witli  regard  to  his  person,  for  he  was  wry-necked." 
Lord  Kaimes  accuses  Dr.  Derham  of  not  having  paid  suffi- 
cient attention  to  one  suhject  which  properly  came  before 
him  in  his  "  Piiysico-theology,"  namel}^,  the  natural  his- 
tory of  animals  with  relation  to  pairing,  and  the  care  of 
their  progeny.  "  M.  Buffon,"  says  he,  "  in  many  large 
volumes,  bestows  scarcely  a  thought  on  that  favourite  sub- 
ject, and  the  neglect  of  our  countrymen,  Kay  and  Derham, 
is  still  less  excusable,  considering  that  f^  display  the  con- 
duct of  Providence  was  the  sole  purpose  of  their  writing 
natural  history."  This  defect  lord  Kaimes  has  endeavoured 
to  supply  by  some  ingenious  observations  of  his  cTwn  ; 
which,  however,  he  considers  as  hints  merely  tending  to 
excite  farther  curiosity. 

Dr.  Derham,  by  Anne  his  wife,  had  several  children, 
the  eldest  of  whom  William  Derham,  D.  D.  died  president 
of  St.  John's  college,  Oxford,  in  1737.* 

DERING  (Edward),  a  puritan  divine  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  was  a  native  of  the  county  of  Kent,  and  related 
to  the  Derings  of  Surrenden.  He  was  educated  at  Christ's 
college,  Cambridge,  of  which  he  was  chosen  fellow  in 
1668,  and  then  took  his  degree  of  bachelor  of  divinity. 
The  year  before,  according  to  Mr.  Cole,  he  was  admitted 
lady  Margaret's  professor  of  divinity.  He  was  also  one  of 
the  preachers  at  St.  Paul's,  and  in  1569  obtained  the  rec- 
tory of  Pluckley  in  the  diocese  of  Canterbury,  and  became 
chaplain  to  the  duke  of  Norfolk.  On  Dec.  20,  1571,  he 
was  presented  by  the  queen  to  the  prebend  of  Chardstoke 
in  the  cathedral  of  Salisbury.  He  was  much  celebrated 
for  his  eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  and  for  his  general  learn- 
ing and  acuteness  as  a  disputant,  of  which  last  he  gave  a 
proof,  in  a  work  written  against  the  popish  Dr.  Harding, 
entitled  "  A  Sparing  Restraint  of  many  lavish  Untruths," 
&c.  1568,  4to.  But  at  length  he  not  only  adopted  the 
sentiments  of  Cartwright  and  others  on  the  subject  of  habits 
and  ceremonies,  but  contended  in  the  pulfjit  for  the  entire 
change  of  church  government  by  bishops,  &c.  for  which  he 
was,  after  a  long  examination  and  controversy,  suspended 
from  preaching  in  1573.  Strypc  has  given  a  particular 
account  of  his  piosecution  and  answers.  He  died  June  26, 
1576,  lamented  for  his  piety  and  usefulness.   But  he  appears 

I  Uioff.  Brit. 


D  E  R  H  A  M.  485 

to  have  carried  his  resistance  to  the  established  religion  to 
a  greater  heigiit  than  most  of  his  brethren,  and  did  not 
spare  the  queen  herself.  Once  when  preaching  before  lier 
majesty,  he  told  her,  that  when  she  was  persecuted  by 
queen  Mary,  her  motto  was  fauc/uam  ovis  ("  like  a  sheep"), 
but  now  it  might  be  tanquam  iiidoinita  juvenca  ("  like  au 
untamed  heifer").  The  queen,  however,  retained  so  much 
of  her  milder  character  as  only  to  forbid  his  preaching  at 
court;  to  which  Neal,  who  quotes  Fuller  for  this  anecdote, 
adds  that  "  he  lost  all  his  preferments  in  the  church,"  al- 
though no  such  words  are  to  be  found  in  Fuller.  His  prin- 
cipal works  are,  1.  "A  Lecture  or  Exposition  upon  a  part 
of  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  as  it  was 
read  in  St.  Paul's,  Dec.  6,  1572,"  Lond.  1581,  16mo. 
This  work  was  extended  to  *'  Twenty-seven  Lectures  or 
Headings  upon  part  of  that  Epistle,"  1576.  2.  "  A  Ser- 
mon preached  before  the  Queen's  Majesty,  Feb.  25,  15Gy," 
Lond.  1584.  3.  *'  A  Sermon  preached  at  the  Tower  of 
London,  Dec.  11,  1569,"  ibid.  1584.  These  three  are 
noticed,  with  extracts,  in  the  Bibliographer,  vol.  L  4.  *'  Cer- 
tain godly  and  comfortable  Letters,  full  of  Christian  con- 
solation," &c.  no  date,  4to,  all  which,  with  some  other 
tracts  of  Dering's,  were  collected  and  printed  in  one  vol. 
8vo,  by  Field  in  1595.  His  correspondence  with  lord 
Burleigh  ma}'  be  seen  in  Strype's  Annals/ 

DFTiMODY  (Thomas),  a  young  man  who  acquired  a 
short-lived  reputation  as  a  poet,  was  born  in  the  south  of 
Ireland,  January  1775.  His  lather,  who  was  a  school- 
master at  Ennis  for  some  years,  is  said  to  have  employed 
his  son,  when  only  in  his  ninth  year,  in  the  situation  of 
Greek  and  Latin  assistant  at  his  own  school,  and  to  increase 
the  wonder,  we  are  told  that  he  had  written  as  much  ge- 
nuine poetry  at  ten,  as  either  Cowley,  Milton,  or  Pope  had 
produced  at  nearly  double  that  ai;e.  At  ten,  too,  he  ran 
away  to  Dublin,  where  he  acquired  the  patronage  of  a 
Dr.  Houlton,  in  whose  house  he  reside i  about  ten  weeksi, 
giving  astonishing  proofs  of  liis  a  •(juaintance  with  the 
Greek  and  Roman  classics,  and  producmg  poetical  trans- 
lations ad  aperturam  libri.  This  g\'ntleman,  when  obliged 
himself  to  leave  Dublin,  gav--  him  some  money,  whicli  he 
soon  spent,   and  wandered  through   the  streets  without  a 

*  Tanner.— Strype's    Annals. ^Strype's    Paiker,    326.    379.  413.    4'2(5    [448, 
43'23  46y.— Fuller's  Church  Hist.  Buuk  IX.  \k  1U9.— Code's  MS  Athena;  \\\  Bnt;, 


486  D  E  R  M  O  D  Y. 

settled  home,  until  he  found  an  asylum  with  a  scene- 
painter  belonging  to  the  theatre.  The  scene-painter  in- 
troduced him  to  the  players,  and  some  attempts  were  lau- 
dably made  by  them  to  place  iiim  in  a  situation  where  he 
might  prosecute  his  studies  ;  but  the  depravity  of  his  dis- 
position appears  to  have  been  as  early  wonderful  as  his 
poetical  talents.  The  latter,  however,  procured  him  one 
patron  after  another,  all  of  whom  he  disgusted  by  his  in- 
gratitude and  licentious  conduct.  At  length,  abandoned 
by  every  person  of  character,  he  entered  as  a  private  in 
the  108th  regiment,  commanded  by  the  earl  of  Granard, 
and  behaving  with  some  decency  under  the  check  of  mili- 
tary discipline,  he  was  progressively  advanced  to  the  ranks 
of  corporal  and  serjeant;  and  in  September  1794,  in  the 
nineteenth  year  of  his  age,  embarked  with  the  regiment 
for  England,  He  accompanied  it  afterwards  abroad  in  the 
expedition  under  the  earl  of  Moira,  and  appears  to  have 
behaved  so  well,  that  his  lordship  promoted  him  to  a  se- 
cond-lieutenancy in  the  waggon  corps,  but  on  the  reduc- 
tion of  this  army,   Dermody  was  put  on  the  half-pay  list. 

He  now  came  to  London,  and  soon  dissipated  his  money 
and  other  supplies  which  lord  Moira  generously  contri- 
buted, in  the  same  low  vices  he  had  practised  in  Ireland, 
until  he  was  arrested,  and  sent  to  the  fleet  prison.  From 
this  situation  lord  Moira  released  him,  with  a  threat,  how- 
ever, to  withdraw  liis  protection,  unless  he  amended  his 
conduct:  but  all  admonition  was  in  vain.  Dermody  could 
feel  his  disappointments  for  the  moment,  but  there  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  a  corner  in  his  heart  for  repent- 
ance. His  resources  being  now  exhausted,  he  took  shelter 
in  a  garret  in  Stratton-street,  Westminster,  where  he  re- 
presents himself  as  "  stabbed  by  the  murderous  arts  of 
men,"  although  he  had  found  a  kind  friend  in  every  man 
to  whom  he  was  known,  and  had  mocked  the  liberality  of 
every  friend  he  found.  His  biographer,  Mr.  Raymond, 
relieved  him  on  this  occasion,  and  assisted  him  in  the  pub- 
lication of  a  volume  of  poems.  "  The  zeal,"  says  that 
gentleman,  *'  of  the  few  friends  who  were  now  acquainted 
with  his  distresses,  soon  procured  him  a  number  of  advo- 
cates. His  story  became  extensively  known  ;  and  among 
the  arbiters  of  wit,  and  the  admirers  of  poetical  composi-^ 
tions,  his  talents  and  situation  were  frequent  subjects  of 
{liscourse.  The  force  of  his  genius  was  universally  ac- 
knovvledged  j  and  from  many  who  interested  themselves  iji 


D  E  R  M  O  D  Y.  487 

his  behalf,  he  reaped  more  solid  advantages  than  praise 
and  admiration.  But  neither  j^jverty,  experience,  nor  the 
contempt  of  the  world,  had  yet  taught  lum  prudence  :  he 
had  no  sooner  excited  their  compassion,  and  profited  by 
their  generosity,  than  he  neglected  their  advice."  He 
thus  went  on  from  one  scene  of  low  depravity  to  another, 
until  his  constitution  was  undermined  ;  and  at  length, 
wasted  with  disease,  the  consequence  of  habitual  intem- 
perance, he  die  i  at  an  obscure  hovel  near  Sydenham,  July 
15,  1802,  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

Such  are  the  outlines  of  a  life  which  his  biographer  has 
extended  to  two  volumes,  of  considerable  size,  without 
affordin:^-  a  period  or  an  incident  on  which  the  mind  can 
dwell  with  any  pleasure.  The  whole,  indeed,  forms  a 
most  disgusting  picture  of  early  and  uniform  depravity,  a 
character  wholly  formed  of  shade,  and  comparable  to  no- 
thing we  remember.  As  a  poet,  Dermody  cannot  be  al- 
lowed to  rank  very  high.  With  a  happy  ear  for  versifica- 
tion, he  gives  us  only  common  ideas  and  common  images 
variously  applied ;  whether  he  might  have  produced  any 
work  of  a  superior  kind,  had  he  been  regular  and  studious, 
cannot  now  be  ascertained.  The  early  age  at  which  he 
produced  many  of  his  pieces  affords  no  ground  of  proba- 
bility. If,  according  to  his  biographer,  he  wrote  as  well 
at  the  age  of  ten,  as  Cowley,  Milton,  or  Pope,  it  is  certain 
that  he  sunk  as  much  below  them  afterwards. 

Dermody's  first  publication  was  a  small  volume  of  poems, 
written  in  his  thirteenth  year,  and  printed  in  1792.  In 
1793  he  published  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  of  the  French 
revolution,  entitled  "  The  Rights  of  Justice,  or  Rational 
Liberty,"  to  which  was  annexed  a  poem  called  "  The  Re- 
form." At  this  time,  we  are  told,  "  his  state  became  so 
desperate  that  he  would  have  undertaken  to  defend  or 
promote  any  cause  which  promised  to  afford  the  least  im- 
mediate supply."  During  his  residence  in  London,  he 
published  a  volume  of  poems  in  1800,  a  second  in  1801  ; 
and  afterwards  a  poem  called  "  The  Battle  of  the  Bards," 
occasioned  by  the  rencounter  between  Dr.  Wolcot,  alias 
Peter  Pindar,  and  a  brother  bard,  Li  1806,  Mr.  James 
Grant  Raymond  published  2  vols.  cr.  8vo,  "  The  Life  of 
Thomas  Dermody,"  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  par- 
ticulars in  the  above  sketch. ' 

1  Life  as  above. 


488  DERRICK. 

DERRICK  (Samuel),  a  native  of  Ireland,   was  born  in 
17  24.     Being  intended  for  trade,  he  was  some  time  placed 
with  a  linen-draper  in   Dublin;  but  disliking  bis  business, 
he  quitted  it  and  his  country  about  1751,  and  commenced 
author  in  London.     Soon  after  he   arrived  at  the  metro- 
polis, he  indulged  an   inclination  which  he   had  imbibed 
for  tlie  stage,  and  appeared  in  the  character  of  Gloucester 
jn  "  Jane  Shore,"  but  with  so  little  success,   that  he  never 
repealed  the  experiment.     After  this  attempt  he  subsisted 
chiefly  by  his  writings;  but  being  of  an  expensive  dispo- 
sition,  running  into   the  follies  and  excesses  of  gallantry 
and   gaming,  he  lived  almost  all  his  time  the  slave  of  de- 
pendence, or  the  sport  of  chance.     His  acquaintance  with 
people  of  fashion,  on  beau  Nash's  death,  procured  him  at 
length  a  more  permanent  subsistence.     He  was  chosen  to 
succeed  that  gentleman  in  his  offices  of  master  of  the  cere- 
monies at  Bath  and  Tunbridge.     By  the  profits  of  these  he 
might  have  been  enabled  to  place  himself  with  oeconomy 
in  a  less  precarious  state  ;  but  his  want  of  conduct  con- 
tinued after  he  was  in  the  possession  of  a  considerable  in- 
come, by  which  means  he  was  at   the  time  of  his  death, 
March  7,  1769,  as  necessitous  as  he  had  been  at  any  period 
of  his  life.     He  translated  one  piece  from  the  French  of 
the  king  of  Prussia,  called  "  Sylla,"  a  dramatic  entertain- 
ment,   1753,   8vo;    '^  A  Voyage  to  the   Moon,"  from  the 
French  of  Bergerac,    1753;  "Memoirs  of  the  Count  de 
Beauval,"  from  the  French  of  the  marquis  d'Argens,"  1754, 
12mo;   "The  third  Satire  of  Juvenal  translated  into  Eng- 
lish verse,"  1755,  4to  ;  and  he  edited  an  edition  of  Dry- 
den's  poetical  works,   with  a  life  and  notes,    1762,    4  vols. 
Svo,  a  beautifully  printed  work,  which  had  very  little  suc- 
cess.   In  1759  he  published  a  "  View  of  the  Stage,"  under 
the  name  of  Wilkes;  in  1762,   "The  Battle  of  Lora,"  a 
poem  ;  in  1763,  ''A  Collection  of  Voyages,*'  2  vols.  12mo, 
and  some  other  compilations,  with  and  without  his  name, 
which,  indeed,   in  the  literary  world,  was  of  little  conse- 
quence.  The  most  amusing  of  his  works,  was  his  "  Letters 
written  from  Liverpool,  Chester,  &c."  2  vols.  12mo.    Der- 
rick lived  rather  to  amuse  than  instruct  the  public,  and  his 
vanity  and  absurdities  were  for  many  years  the  standing- 
topics  of  the  newspaper  wits.     A  few,   not  unfavourable, 
anecdotes  of  Derrick  are  given  in  Boswell's  Life  of  John- 
son. ' 

1  T.ioEf.  Dram. —  lioswell's  T/ife  of  Johnson. — Isaac  Reed's  MS  Anecdotes, 
3  vols.  Svo,  in  the  possessi«n  of  the  Editor. 


I)  E  S  A  G  U  L  I  E  11   S.  489 

DESAGULIERS  (John-TheoITIILUs),  an  eminent  ex- 
perimental j)hilosopher,  was  born  at  Kochelle,  in  France, 
on  the  12th  of  March  1683.     He  was  brought  to  England 
when  about  two  years  of  age,  by  his  father,   the  rev.  Mr. 
John  DesaguHers,  who,   being   a   French   protestant,  was 
obliged  to  quit  his  native  country  in  consequence  of  the 
persecution    which  followed  upon    the   revocation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes,  which   took  place  in  1685.     He  was  in- 
structed  in   grammar  learning  by   his  father,  and  read  the 
classics   under  him  ;  after    wliich   he    was    sent  to  Christ 
Church   college,  Oxford,   where    lie  took   the    degree   of 
B.  A.  and    entered   into    deacon's    orders    in   1710.     The 
same  year  he  read  lectures  in   experimental  philosophy  at 
Hart-hall,   whither   he  had  removed  from  Christ  Church, 
in  the  room  of  Mr.  Keill  (afterwards  Dr.  Keill)  who  at  this 
time  accompanied  the  Palatines  to  New  England,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  being  appointed  their  treasurer.     In  1712 
he   married    Miss   Joanna    Pudsey,  daughter    of   William 
Pudsey,  esq.  and,  on  the  third  of  May  the  same  year,  took 
the  degree  of  M.  A.     The  following  year  he  removed  to 
the  metropolis,  and  settled  in  Channel-row,  Westminster, 
where  he  continued  his  courses  of  experimental  philosophy 
several  years. 

On  the  29th  of  July  1714,  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of 
the  royal  society,  of  which  he  became  a  very  useful  mem- 
ber,  and  was   much  respected  by  the  president,  sir  Isaac 
Newton.     His  first  paper  which  appeared   in   the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions,  was  published  in  the  348th  number, 
and  contained  an  account  of  some  experiments  of  sir  Isaac 
Newton  on  light  and  colours,  which  had  been  repeated  by- 
Mr.  Desaguliers,  in   order  to   confirm   sir  Isaac's   theory. 
He  soon  after  communicated  to  the  society  (Transactions, 
No.  361)  a  method  by  which  myopes  might  use  telescopes 
without  eye-glasses.    Of  some  experiments  which  he  made 
with  Mr.  Villette's  burning-glass,   in  conjunction   with  Dr. 
J.  Harris,  an  account  was  also  published  in  the  Transac- 
tions,    In  1716  he  published  a  piece  entitled   "  Fires  im- 
proved;   being  a  new  method  of  building  Chimnies,  so  as 
to  prevent  their  smoaking."     This  was  a  translation  from 
the  French,  and  involved  him  in   some  dispute  with  Ed- 
mund Curll,  whom  he  had  employed  as  his  publisher,  and 
admitted  to  have  a  share  in  the  book.     Curll,  in  order  to 
promote  the  sale,  had  puffed  it  off  in  a  very  gross  manner  j 
which  induced  Mr.  Desaguliers  to  publish  a  letter  in  % 


490  D  E  S  A  G  U  L  I  E  11  S. 

periodical  paper,  called  "  The  Town-Talk,"  begun  at  that 
time  by  sir  Richard  Steele,  in  which  he  informed  the  pub- 
lic, that,  whenever  his  name  hereafter  "  was,  or  should 
be  printed,  with  that  egregious  flatterer  Mr.  Curll's,  either 
in  an  advertisement,  or  at  the  title-page  of  a  book,  except 
that  of  Fires  improved,  he  entirely  disowned  it." 

The  merit  of  our  experimental  philosopher  had  now  at- 
tracted the  notice  of  the  duke  of  Chandos,  who  had  before 
taken  Dr.  Keill  under  his  patronage,  and  who  became  also 
a  patron  to  Mr.  Desuguliers,  making  him  his  chaplain,  and 
presenting  him,   about   1714,   to  the    living   of   Stanmore 
parva,  or  Whitchurch.     In  1717  he  went  through  a  course 
of  his  lectures  on  experimental  philosophy,  before  king 
George  I.  at  Hampton  Court ;  with  which  his  majesty  was 
sa  well  pleased,  that  he  intended  to  have  conferred  upon 
him  the  valuable  living  of  Much  Munden,  in  Hertfordshire; 
but  that  benefice  was  obtained  for  another  person  by  the 
earl  of  Sunderland,  who  prevailed  with  a  friend  to  present 
bim  with  a  living  in  Norfolk,  the  revenue  of  which,  how- 
ever, amounted  only  to  70/.  per  annum.     On  the  16th  of 
March  1718,  he  accumulated  the  degrees  of  bachelor  and 
doctor  of  laws  at  Oxford.     On  the  3uth  of  June  1720,  he 
made  an   experiment  before   the   royal   society,  to  prove 
that  bodies  of  the  same  bulk  do  not  contain  equal  quan- 
tities of  matter;  and,  therefore,  that  there  is  an  interspersed 
vacuum.     He  likewise  made  some  experiments  before  the 
society  on  the   30th  of  March  1721,  relating  to  the  re- 
sistance of  fluids,    an    account  of    which    was    published 
in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,   No.  367.     In  1728   he 
shewed  before  the  royal  society  a  machine  for  measuring 
any   depth   in   the  sea,   with   great   expedition   and   cer- 
tainty, which  was  invented  by  the  rev.  Mr.  Stephen  Hales 
(afterwards    Dr.    Hales)    and    himself;    and    of  which   an 
account  was  published  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions, 
No.  405.     He   continued,  from    time   to  time,  to  exhibit 
various  philosophical  experiments  before  the  royal  society, 
and  for  which  he  received  a  salary. 

In  1734  he  published,  in  two  volumes,   4to,  "A  Course 
of  Experimental  Philosophy*."     On  the  30tli  of  January, 

•  In  1719  was  published,  in   4to,  a  demonstrated  and   explained  at  large, 

work  under   the   following   title  :    "  A  by  a  great  number  of  curious   experi- 

System   of   Experimental  Philosophy,  uients;   with  a  full  description  of  the 

proved    by    Mechanics;     wherein    the  air  pump,  and  the  several  experiments 

principles   and    laws    of   physics,   me-  thereon:  as  also  of  the  different  specii^s 

vbanics,  hydrostatics,  and  optics,  are  of  barometers,  thermometers,  auJ  hji- 


D  E  S  A  G  U  L  I  E  R  S.  491 

the  following  year,  he  couimunicated  to  the  royal  society 
an  attempt  to  explain  the  phenomeiKin  of  the  horizontal 
moon  appeani.g  biggtr  than  when  elevated  many  degrees 
above  th^-  iinrizon,  supported  by  an  experiment.  He  like- 
wise published  tills  year,  in  8vo,  the  second  edition  of 
**  Dr.  Gregory's  Elements  of  Catoptrics  and  Dioptiics," 
translated  into  English  by  Dr.  Brown  ;  to  which  he  added 
an  appendix,  containing  an  account  of  reflecting  tele- 
scopes, &,c.  In  February  1738,  he  made  some  electrical 
experiments  before  the  royal  society  ;  and,  in  April  the 
same  year,  he  performed  some  electrical  experi.nents  at 
the  prince  of  Wales's  house  at  Cliefden  ;  of  which  an  ac- 
count was  published  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions, 
No.  454.  In  17:ii?  he  communicated  to  the  royal  society 
some  thoughts  and  conjectures  concerning  the  cause  of 
elasticit}',  which  were  published  in  the  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions, No.  454,  and  contributed  various  other  papers, 
which  were  also  published  in  the  Transactions.  He  had 
the  honour  of  reading  his  lectures  before  king  George  II. 
as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  royal  family  ;  ar.d  he  exchanged 
the  living  which  he  had  in  Norfolk  for  one  in  Essex,  which 
he  obtained  on  the  presentation  of  his  majesty.  He  was 
likewise  made  chaplain  to  Frederick  prince  of  Wales. 

When  Channel  row,  in  which  he  had  lived  for  some 
years,  was  ordered  to  be  taken  down  to  make  way  for  the 
new  bridge  at  Westminster,  Dr.  Desagnlif  rs  removed  to 
lodgings  over  the  Great  Piazza  in  Covent  Garden,  where 
he  carried  on  his  lectures  till  his  death.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  repeatedly  consulted  by  parliament,  upon  the 
design  of  building  that  bridge  ;  in  the  execution  of  which, 
Mr.  Charles  Labelye,  who  hud  been  many  years  his  as- 
sistant, was  appointed  a  supervisor.  He  likewise  erected 
a  ventilator,  at  the  desire  of  parliament,  in  a  room  over  the 
house  of  commons.  In  1742  he  published  a  "  Disserta- 
tion on  Electricity,"  by  which  he  gained  the  prize  of  the 
academy  at  Bourdeaux.  "  This  prize,"  Dr.  Priestley  ob- 
serves, "  was  a  medal  of  the  value  of  300  livres,  proposed, 
at  the  request  of  monsieur  Harpez  de  la  Force,  for  the 
best  essay  on  electricity ;  and  shews  how  much  this  sub- 

drometers;   as  shewn  at  the  public  lee-  avowed    this  work,  which  appears    to 

tures  in  a  course  of  experimental  phi-  have  been   p\iblished   by   a  person  of 

losophy.     As  performed  by  J.  T.  Des-  the   name    of   Paul   Dawson,  who  at- 

aguliers,  M.  A.  F.  R.  S."      But  when  lended  Dr.  Desaguliers's  lectures,  and 

Dr.  Desaguliers  published  his  "  Course  dedicated    the    work    to   sir    Richard 

cf  Expehmeatal  Philosophy,"  he  dis-  Steele. 


492  D  E  S  A  G  U  L  I  E  R  S. 

ject  engaged  the  attention  of  philosophers  at  that  time. 
1'he  dissertation  is  well  drawn  up,  and  comprizes  all  that 
was  known  of  the  subject  till  that  period."  Dr.  Desa- 
guliers,  who  is  styled  by  Dr.  Priestley  "  an  indefatigable 
experimental  philosopher,"  died  Feb.  29,  1744,  at  the 
Bedford  coffee-honse,  Covent  Garden,  where  lie  had  lodg- 
ings, and  was  buried  March  6th,  in  the  Savoy.  He  was 
the  first  who  introduced  the  reading  of  lectures  in  experi- 
mental philosophy  at  the  metropolis  ;  and  was  a  member 
of  several  foreign  academies,  and  corresj)onding  member 
of  the  royal  academy  of  sciences  at  Paris.  His  personal 
figure  was  not  very  promising  ;  for  he  was  thick  and  short, 
not  well-shaped,  his  iciitures  irregular,  and  extremely  near- 
sighted. In  the  former  part  of  liis  life  he  lived  very  ab- 
Klemiously;  but  in  his  latter  years  was  censured  for  an 
indulgence  in  eating  to  excess,  both  in  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  his  diet.  He  translated  into  English,  from  the 
Latin,  Gravesande's  "  Mathematical  Elements  of  Natural 
Piiilosophy."  This  work  was  published  by  his  son  J.  T. 
Desaguliers,  in  two  volumes,  4to.  He  left  two  other  sons  : 
Alexander,  who  was  bred  to  the  church,  and  had  a  living 
in  Norfolk,  where  he  died  in  1751  ;  and  another,  named 
Thomas,  who  became  colonel  of  the  royal  regiment  of  ar- 
tillery, and  equerry  to  his  present  majesty,  and  rose  to 
the  rank  of  major-general, 

In  Dr.  Desaguliers's  character  as  a  divine*,  we  find 
only  one  publication  by  him,  a  single  sermon,  in  octavo, 
preached  before  the  king  in  1717,  from  Luke  xiii.  5.  "  I 
tell  you  nay  ;  but  except  you  repent,  you  shall  all  likewise 
perish."  It  was  a  thanksgiving-sermon ;  but  on  what  par- 
ticular occasion  it  was  delivered  we  are  not  informed. 

If  credit  is  to  be  given  to  Mr.  Cawthorn,  Dr.  Desagu- 
liers was  in  very  necessitous  circumstances  at  the  time  of 
his  decease.  In  the  poem  entitled  "  The  Vanity  of  Human 
Enjoyments,"  Mr.  Cawthorn  laments  his  fate  in  these 
lines  ; 

"  How  poor,  neglected  Desaguliers  fell ! 

How  he,  who  (aught  two  gracious  kings  to  view 

♦  The  followinf;  anecdote  is  rtcorrled  length    silenced   the   swearer  with   the 

of  l)is  i'espe(  t  for  liie  clerical  character,  following  rebuke:   "  Sir,  you  have  ta- 

Beingiiiviti  d  to  an  illiistriovisconip.^ny,  ken  some  pains  to  renderme  ridiculous, 

one  of   whom,  an  oflicer,  ad  lictcd  to  if  possible,  by  your  pointed  apologies; 

swearing  in  his  discourse,  at  the  period  now,  sir,   I  am  to  tell  you,  that  if  Ued 

of  every  oath   asked   Dr.   Desaguliers'  Almighty  does  not  hear  you,   I  assuc4t 

pardon:  the  doctor  bore  this  levity  for  you  I  will  ni'ver  tell  h\in>" 
liome  lime  with  great  patience,  but  at 


DESAGULIERS.  493 

All  Boyle  ennobled,  and  all  Bacon  knew, 
Died  in  a  cell,  without  a  friend  to  save. 
Without  a  guinea,  and  without  a  grave." ' 

DES  ARGUES.     See  ARGUES. 

DESAULT  (Pkter),  a  French  phj^slcian,  was  born  at 
Arsac,  in  Chalosse,  in  1675,  and  died  at  Bourdeaiix,  in 
1737,  where  lie  acquired  great  reputation  as  a  piactitioner, 
and  was  author  of  several  usci'ul  practical  works,  wliicli  are 
stiJl  souiiht  for,  on  the  eout,  and  on  the  venereal  disease, 
which  latter  he  professed  to  cure  without  salivation.  In 
his  '*  Dissertation  sur  la  Pierre  des  reins  et  de  la  vessie," 
1736,  3  vols.  12mo,  he  is  averse  to  cutting  for  the  stone 
in  the  bladder  ;  which  he  says  may  be  dissolved  by  giving 
the  patients  the  water  of  Bareges  to  drink,  and  by  injecting 
ic  into  their  bladders,  and  although  it  is  now  known  the 
waters  do  not  dissolve  the  stone,  they  are  still  used  for 
their  power  in  appeasing  pain.  In  the  second  volume  the 
author  treats  of  the  management  of  persons  bitten  by  rabid 
animals,  and  opposes,  with  propriety,  opinions  once  very 
prevalent,  that  persons  in  hydrophobia  attempt  biting  their 
attendants,  and  that  they  make  a  noise  resembling  the 
barking  of  a  dog,  which  certainly  never  occur.  He  left 
behintl  him  a  manuscript  on  the  epilepsy.  The  publica- 
tion entitled  "  Nouvelies  decouvertes  en  medicine,"  1727, 
has  been  attributed  to  him  without  sufficient  authority. 
Cailluu,  a  physician  of  Bourdeaux,  published  in  1800  a 
very  interesting  account  of  the  life  and  writings  of  Desault, 
which  we  have  not  yet  seen.^ 

DESAULT  (PiiiER  Joseph),  principal  surgeon  to  the 
Hotel-Dieu  in  Paris,  and  a  great  improver  of  the  art,  was 
born  Feb.  6,  1714,  at  Magny  Vernois,  a  village  in  the 
province  of  Franchc  Comte.  He  was  educated  among  the 
Jesuits,  and  intended  by  his  father  for  the  church  ;  but 
evincing  a  stronger  inclination  for  the  medical  profession, 
he  was  sent  to  Befort,  where  he  spent  three  years  in  the 
military  hospital  there.  To  his  medical  studies  he  added 
that  of  the  mathematics,  in  which  he  made  great  progress  ; 
but  fell  into  one  of  the  many  errors  so  common  among 
the  physicians  of  that  day,  namely,  a  false  application  of 
the  rules  of  geometry  to  the  laws  of  the  animal  oeconomy. 
He  not  only  perused  with  avidity  the  treatise  of  Borelli, 
"  D#  Motu  Animalium,"  but  translated  the  whole  of  it, 

'   Bioj:.  Brit. — LysonsM  Environs,  vol.  III. 
*  Diet.  Hist,— Rftes's  Gjclojjaedia, 


494  D  E  S  A  U  L  T. 

and  added  a  commentary  more  abundant  in  calculation 
than  that  of  his  author.  In  1764,  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
he  came  to  Paris,  where  surgery  at  that  time  flourished 
under  Lafaye,  Morand,  Andouiilet,  and  Louis.  Animated 
by  the  fame  they  had  acquired,  and  desirous  to  emulate 
them,  Desault  pursued  his  anatomical  studies  with  the 
greatest  ardour,  and  was  continually  employed  in  dissec- 
tions, or  in  witnessing  the  operations  performed  in  the 
hospitals.  In  the  winter  of  1766,  he  commenced  a  course 
of  lectures  on  anatomy,  and  soon  reckoned  300  pupils, 
most  of  them  older  than  himself,  who  were  attracted  by 
the  clearness  of  his  demonstrations,  the  methodical  ar- 
rangement of  his  descriptions,  and,  above  all,  by  his  inde- 
fatigable zeal  as  a  teacher.  After  some  opposition  from 
the  jealousy  of  the  other  lecturers,  whose  schools  became 
deserted,  he  was  admitted  in  1776  into  the  corporation  of 
surgeons,  and  allowed  to  pay  the  usual  fees  when  conve- 
nient ;  a  circumstance  which,  however  honourable  to  their 
liberality,  shews  that  his  celebrity  had  not  yet  been  at- 
tended with  much  pecuniary  advantage.  After  becoming 
a  simple  member,  and  then  a  counsellor  of  the  perpetual 
committee  of  the  academy  of  surgery,  he  was  appointed 
chief  surgeon  to  the  hospital  of  the  college,  and  consulting 
surgeon  to  that  of  St.  Sulpice,  neither  of  which  added  any 
thing  to  his  fortune,  but  increased  his  experience.  In 
1779  he  invented  the  bandage  now  in  use  for  fractures,  by 
means  of  which,  the  fragments  being  kept  in  a  state  of 
perpetual  contact,  become  consolidated,  without  the  least 
appearance  of  deformity;  an  almost  inevitable  consequence 
of  the  former  mode. 

On  his  appointment  to  the  place  of  surgeon-major  to  the 
hospital  de  la  Charite,  in  1782,  he  introduced  a  new  me- 
thod of  treatment  in  oblique  fractures  of  the  thigh-bone, 
and  substituted  new  banda»ies  in  fractures  of  the  humerus 
and  clavicle,  never  recurring  to  amputation  but  in  extreme 
cases.  On  the  death  of  Ferrand,  chief-surgeon  of  the 
Hotel-Dieu,  and  of  Moreau,  the  whole  charge  of  the  hos- 
pital devolved  on  him;  and  in  1788,  he  succeeded,  although 
against  some  opposition,  in  establij^hing  a  clinical  school, 
for  which  a  spacious  amphitheatre  was  erected ;  and  more 
than  600  auditors,  composed  of  all  nations,  constantly  at- 
tended to  learn  a  new  system,  consisting  of  a  simple  mode 
of  treatment,  disengaged  from  ancient  prejudices,  and  a 
complex  incoherent  practice.     In  1791   he  published  his 


D  E  S  A  U  L  T.  495 

*<  Journal  de  Chirurgerie,"  which  described  the  most  in- 
teresting occurrences  in  his  school,  and  detailed  the  im- 
provements he  was  introducing.  In  the  multiplicity  of 
these  labours,  and  although  obliged  to  attend  four  hundred 
sick  persons  twice  a  day,  he  nevertheless  employed  more 
tliau  four  hours  in  visiting  private  patients.  In  1792,  when 
he  had  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  council  of  health, 
he  was  denounced  in  the  revolutionary  societies,  as  an 
egotist,  an  indifcrent,  &c.  cant  phrases  introduced  at  that 
tune,  and  was  imprisoned  in  the  Luxemburgh ;  but,  the 
tyrants  of  the  day  hnding  that  the  business  of  the  Hotel- 
Dieu,  and  of  the  clinical  school,  now  in  its  highest  repu- 
tation, could  not  be  conducted  without  him,  he  was  re- 
leased. The  subsequent  atrocities,  of  which  he  was  a  pain- 
ful witness,  affected  his  mind,  and  are  said  to  have  brought 
on  a  malignant  fever  and  delirium,  which  ended  in  his 
death,  June  1,  1795.  Other  accounts  state  that  he  was 
appointed  to  visit  Louis  XVII.  then  in  the  prison  of  the 
Temple,  and  that  he  was  poisoned,  either  to  conceal  the 
brutal  conduct  which  he  had  witnessed  respecting  that 
youno-  prince,  or  because  he  refused  to  yield  to  the  views 
entertained  against  his  life.  The  French  republic,  how- 
ever, eager  to  pay  homage  to  his  memorj^,  presented  his 
widow  with  a  pension  of  2000  livres  per  annum.  His 
eloge  was  written  by  Bichat,  one  of  his  pupils,  and  his 
coadjutor  in  the  "  Journal  de  Chirurgie  ;"  and  by  Petit, 
chief  surgeon  of  the  hospital  of  Lyons.  Desault  left  but 
one  work  behind  him,  in  which  the  name  of  his  friend 
Chopart  is  joined  with  his  own ;  it  is  entitled  "  Maladies 
Chirurgicales  et  des  Operations  qui  leur  convicnnent," 
1780,  2  vols.  8vo.  This  has  lately  been  translated  into 
English  by  Mr.  Turnbull.* 

DE  SAUSSUIIE.     See  SAUSSURE. 

DES  BARREAUX  (James  Vallee,  Lord),  a  French 
nobleman,  born  at  Paris  in  1602,  was,  like  the  English 
lord  Rochester,  a  great  wit,  a  great  libertine,  and  a  great 
penitent.  He  made  a  vast  progress  in  his  studies  under 
the  Jesuits,  who,  perceiving  his  genius,  endeavoured  to 
get  him  into  their  society  ;  but  his  family  would  not  listen 
to  their  proposal,  and  he  soon  himself  began  to  treat  them 
with  ridicule.     While  very  young,  his  father  procured  him. 

»  Gleig's  Supplement  to  the  Encycl,  Biitannica. — Diet.   Hist. — Biographie' 
Moderne, 


49ff  DES     BARREAUX. 

the  place  of  a  counsellor  in  the  parliament  of  Paris,  where 
his  wit  was  admired  ;  but  he  would  never  report  a  cause  ; 
for  he  used  to  say  that  it  was  a  sordid  occupation,  and  un- 
worthy of  a  man  of  parts,  to  read  wrangling  papers  with 
attention,  and  to  endeavour  to  understand  them.  It  is 
said,  indeed,  that  on  one  occasion,  when  his  clients  were 
urgent  for  a  decision,  he  sent  for  both  parties,  burnt  the 
papers  before  them,  and  paid  down  the  sum  that  was  the 
cause  of  the  dispute,  to  the  amount  of  four  or  five  hundred 
livres.  One  account  says,  that  he  left  this  place  from  the 
following  cause.  Cardinal  llichelieu  faUing  in  love  with 
the  celebrated  beauty  Marion  de  Lorme,  whose  affections 
were  entirely  placed  on  our  Des  Barreaux,  proposed  to 
him  by  a  third  iiand,  that  if  he  would  resign  his  mistress, 
he  should  have  whatever  he  should  desire.  Des  Barreaux 
answered  the  proposal  in  a  jesting  way,  feigning  to  believe 
the  cardinal  incapable  of  so  much  weakness.  This  enraged 
the  minister  so  highly,  that  he  persecuted  Des  Barreaux 
as  long  as  he  lived,  and  forced  him  not  only  to  quit  his 
place,  but  even  to  leave  the  kingdom.  But  another  ac- 
count says  that  his  resignation  of  the  bar  was  voluntary, 
and  with  a  view  to  become  a  man  of  pleasure,  which  ap- 
pears to  be  more  probable.  During  his  career,  however, 
he  made  a  great  number  of  Latin  and  French  verses,  and 
some  pleasing  songs  ;  but  never  pursued  any  thing  se- 
riously, except  good  cheer  and  diversions,  and  being  very 
entertaining  in  company,  he  was  in  high  request  with  men 
of  wit  and  taste.  He  had  his  particular  friends  in  the  se- 
veral provinces  of  France,  whom  he  frequently  visited  ; 
and  it  was  his  practice  to  shift  his  quarters,  according  to 
the  seasons  of  the  year.  In  winter,  he  went  to  seek  the 
sun  on  the  coasts  of  Provence;  and  passed  the  three  worst 
months  in  the  year  at  Marseilles.  The  house  which  he 
called  his  favourite,  was  that  of  the  count  de  Clermont  de 
Lodeve,  in  Languedoc  ;  where,  he  used  to  say,  good  cheer 
and  liberty  were  on  their  throne.  Sometimes  he  went  to 
Balzac,  on  the  banks  of  the  Charante  ;  but  his  chief  resi- 
dence was  at  Chenailles  on  the  Loire.  His  general  view 
in  these  ramblings  was  to  search  out  the  best  fruits  and  the 
best  wines  in  the  climates:  but  sometimes,  to  do  him  justice, 
his  object  was  more  intellectual,  as,  when  he  went  into 
Holland,  on  purpose  to  see  Des  Cartes,  and  to  improve  1)/ 
the  instructions  of  that  great  genius. 


D  E  S      B  A  R  R  E  A  tr  X.  497 

His  friends  do  not  deny  that  he  was  a  great  libertine  ; 
but  pretend,  that  fame,  according  to  custom,  had  said 
more  of  him  than  is  true,  and  that,  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life,  he  was  convinced  of  the  reality  of  religion.  They 
say,  that  he  did  not  disapprove  the  truths  of  Christianity, 
and  wished  to  be  fully  convinced  of  them  ;  but  he  thought 
nothinor  was  so  difficult  to  a  man  of  wit  as  to  be  a  true  be- 
never.  He  was  born  a  catholic,  but  paid  little  attentioa 
either  to  the  worship  or  doctrines  of  the  Romish  religion  j 
and  he  used  to  say,  that  if  the  Scriptures  are  to  be  the 
rule  of  our  actions  and  of  our  belief,  there  was  no  better 
religion  than  the  protestant.  Four  or  five  years  before  hij 
death,  we  are  told  that  he  entirely  forsook  his  vicious 
courses,  paid  his  debts,  and,  having  never  been  married, 
gave  up  the  remainder  of  his  estate  to  his  sisters;  reserving 
to  himself  for  life  an  annuity  of  4000  livres.  He  then  re- 
tired to  Chalon  on  the  Soane,  which  he  said  was  the  best 
and  purest  air  in  France  ;  hired  a  small  house,  and  was 
visited  by  the  better  sort  of  people,  particularly  by  the 
bishop,  who  afterwards  spoke  well  of  him.  He  died  ia 
that  city.  May  9,  1673,  having  made  the  famous  devout 
sonnet  two  or  three  years  before  his  death,  which  begins, 
"  Grand  Dieu,  tes  jugemens,"  &c.  But  Voltaire  has  en- 
deavoured to  deprive  him  of  the  merit  of  this,  by  ascribing 
it  to  the  abb6  de  Levau.  It  is,  however,  the  only  one  of 
Des  Barreaux's  poems,  which  in  general  were  in  the  style 
of  Sarazin  and  Chapelle,  that  has  obtained  approbation, 
Dreux  du  Radier,  in  his  "  Recreations  historiques,"  asserts 
that  it  is  an  imitation  of  a  sonnet  by  Desportes,  who  pub- 
lished it  in  160'i ;  and  if  so,  the  imitation  must  be  allowed 
greatly  to  surpass  the  original.  • 

DESBILLONS  (Francis  Joseph  Terrasse),  an  ele- 
gant Latin  poet,  was  a  native  of  France,  and  born  at 
Chateauneuf,  in  Berri,  Jan.  25,  1711,  and  entered  the 
order  of  the  Jesuits,  in  whose  schools  he  taught  rhetoric 
for  some  years.  When  invited  to  Paris,  to  the  college  of 
Louis-le-Giand,  he  acquired  great  fame  by  his  Latin  poetry, 
which  was  thought  so  pure,  that  he  was  usually  styled  lUti' 
mus  Romanorum.  On  the  abolition  of  the  order  of  the 
Jesuits  in  France,  Desbillons  found  an  honourable  asylum 
with  the  elector  palatine,  who  gave  him  a  pension  of  a 
thousand  crowns,  and  a  place  in  the  college  of  Manheim, 

•  Diet,  Hist  --Biog.  Uniyerselle,  ia  Barreaux.— Gen.  Diet, 
TOL.  XI.  K   K 


498  jD  E  S  B  I  L  L  O  N  S. 

where  he  died  M^-rch  19,  1789.  He  wrote  Latin  lamhics 
with  great  ease,  and  even  wrote  his  will  in  that  measure, 
in  which  he  bequeathed  his  valuable  library  to  the  La- 
zarists.  His  works  are:  I.  "  Fabulae  libri  XV."  Paris, 
1775,  and  1778,  elegantly  printed  by  Barbou  ;  but  it  is 
rather  singular  that  the  first  five  books  of  these  fables  were 
originally  printed  at  Glasgow  in  1754,  and  a  second  edi- 
tion at  Paris,  in  1156;  at  which  time  the  author  acknow- 
ledged the  work,  and  added  five  more  books,  the  whole 
then  containing  about  three' hundred  and  fifty  fables.  The 
greater  part  are  translated  or  paraphrased  from  the  writings 
of  the  most  eminent  fabulists,  ancient  and  modern,  par- 
ticularly among  the  moderns,  La  Fontaine  ;  but  there  is  a 
considerable  number  of  oricjinals.  He  afterwards  increased 
the  number  of  books  to  fifteen,  as  in  the  edition  first  men- 
tioned. They  have  been  also  reprinted  in  Germany,  and 
the  author  himself  translated  them  into  French,  with  the 
Latin  text  added,  which  edition,  usually  reckoned  the  best, 
was  published  at  Manheim,  1769,  2  vols.  8vo.  His  Latin 
style  is  peculiarly  chasre  and  unaffected.  2.  "  Nouveaux 
eclaircissemens  sur  la  vie  et  les  ouvrages  de  Guillaume 
Postel,"  1763,  8vo.  3.  "  Histoire  de  la  vie  et  des  ex- 
ploits militaires  de  madame  de  St.  Balmont,"  1773,  8vo. 
4.  "  Ars  bene  valendi,'*  1788,  8vo ;  a  Latin  poem  in 
Iambics,  on  the  preservation  of  health,  in  which  the  author 
inveighs  against  hot  liquids,  especially  chocolate,  tea, 
and  coffee.  Besides  these,  Desbillons  published  a  very 
correct  edition  of  "  Pbsedrus,"  with  three  dissertations  on 
the  life,  fables,  and  editions  of  Phsednas,  and  notes,  Man- 
heim, 17  86,  8vo,  and  an  edition  of  Thomas  a  Kempis. 
He  wrote  also  some  dramatic  pieces  in  Latin,  and  a  his- 
tory of  the  Latin  language,  which  is  still  in  manuscript. 
In  1792  his  "  Miscellanea  Posthuma"  were  published  at 
Manheim,  8vo,  containing  a  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  book 
of  Fables  ;  "  Monita  Philosophica,"  against  the  modern 
French  philosophers ;  and  a  Latin  comed}^,  *'  Schola  Pa- 
trum,  sive  Patrum  et  Liberorum  indoles  emendata.'" 

DESBOIS  (Francis  Alexander  Aurert  de  la  Ches- 
NAIE),  a  laborious  Dictionary  maker,  at  a  time  when  in 
France  all  knowledge  was  to  be  communicated  by  dictiona- 
ries, was  born  at  Ernee  in  the  Maine,  June  17,  1699,  and 
was  for  some  time  a  capuchin.     Keturning  again  to  the 

»  Diet.  Hist.— Month.  Rev.  voI.XXl.— Biit.  Crit.  vol.  L 


D  E  S  B  O  I  S.  499 

world,  he  was  employed  by  Desfontaines  and  Granet  in 
their  journals,  making  extracts,  &c.  for  them,  which  they 
polished  for  the  press.  He  then  commenced  his  manufac- 
tory of  dictionaries,  of  which  the  following  is  a  list:  1. 
*'  bictionnaire  Militaire,"  175S,  3  vols.  Svo.  2.  *'  Dic- 
tionnaire  d'Agriculture,"  1751,  2  vols.  Svo.  3.  "  Diction- 
iiaire  universel  et  raisonne  des  Animaux,"  1 759,  4  vols.  4to. 
4.  "  Dictionnaire  Domestique,"  1762,  and  1763,  3  vols. 
Svo,  of  which  he  compiled  only  the  two  last.  5.  "  Dic- 
tionnaire historique  des  moeurs,  usages,  et  coutumes  des 
Francois,"  1767,  3  vols.  Svo.  6.  "  Dictionnaire  de  la 
noblesse,  contenant  les  genealogies,  histoire  et  la  chro- 
nologie  des  families  nobles  de  la  France,"  1773,  &c.  12 
vols.  4to,  with  a  supplement  in  3  vols.  In  this  voluminous 
work  he  bestows  his  attention  chiefly  on  the  families  which 
paid  him  best,  and  to  which  it  was  most  difficult  to  give 
celebrity,  omitting  or  slightly  noticing  some  of  the  most 
ancient  and  honourable.  With  all  the  advantages  he  de- 
rived from  this  and  his  other  works,  we  are  told  that  he 
died  at  last  in  indigence,  in  one  of  the  hospitals  of  Paris, 
Feb.  29,  1784.' 

DES  BROSSES.     See  BROSSES. 
DES  CAR7'ES  (Rene),  a  modern  philosopher  of  high 
distinction,  was   born    at    La  Ha3e    in  Tourain,    France, 
April    I,    1596,  of  an  ancient  and   noble  family.     Whilst 
yet  a  child,  he  discovered  an  eager  curiosity  to  inquire  into 
the  nature  and  causes  of  things,  which  procured   him  the 
appellation  of  the  young   philosopher.     At  eight  years  of 
age  he  was  committed  to  the  care  of  Dinet,  a  learned  Je- 
suit, under  whom  he  made  uncommon  proficiency  in  learn- 
ing.     But   an    habit    of  close   and    deep   reflection    soon 
enabled  him  to  discover  defects  in  the  books  which  he  read, 
and  in  the  instructions  which  he  received,  which  led   him 
to  form  the  ambitious  hope  that  he  should,  in  some  future 
time,   carry  science  to  greater  perfection  than  it  had  ever 
yet  reached.      After  spending  five  years  in  the  diligent 
study  of   languages,    and    in  reading  the  ancient    poets, 
orators,  and  historians,  he  made   himself  well  acquainted 
with  the  elements  of  mathematics,  logic,  and  morals,  as 
they  had  been  hitherto  taught.     His  earnest  desire  of  at- 
taining an  accurate  knowledge  of  every  thing  which  be- 
came a  subject  of  contemplation  to  his  inquisitive  mind, 

>  Diet.  Hist.  ' 
KK  2 


500  DESCARTES. 

(lid  not,  however,  in  any  of  these  branches  of  science  meet 
with  full  satisfaction.  Concerning  logic,  particularly,  he 
complained,  that  after  the  most  diligent  examination  he 
found  the  syllogistic  forms,  and  almost  every  other  pre- 
cept of  the  art,  more  useful  in  enabling  a  man  to  commu- 
nicate to  others  truths  already  known,  or  in  qualifying  him 
to  discourse  copiously  upon  subjects  which  he  does  not 
understand,  than  assisting  him  in  the  investigation  of 
truths,  of  which  he  is  ignorant.  Hence  he  was  led  to 
frame  for  himself  a  brief  system  of  rules  or  canons  of  rea- 
soning, in  which  he  followed  the  strict  method  of  the  geo- 
metricians, and  he  pursued  the  same  plan  with  respect  to 
morals.  But  after  all  his  speculation^,  he  was  not  able  to 
attain  the  entire  satisfaction  which  he  so  earnestly  desired  ; 
and,  at  the  close  of  eight  years'  assiduous  application  in 
the  Jesuits'  college  at  La  Fleche,  he  returned  to  his  pa- 
rents, lamenting  that  he  had  derived  no  other  benefit  from 
his  studies,  than  a  fuller  conviction  that  he,  as  yet,  knew 
nothing  with  perfect  clearness  and  certainty.  Despairing 
of  being  able  to  discover  truth  in  the  paths  of  learning,  he 
now  bade  adieu  to  books,  and  resolved  henceforth  to  pur- 
sue no  other  knowledge  than  that  which  he  could  find 
within  himself,  and  in  the  great  volume  of  nature. 

In  his  seventeenth  year,  his  father  sent  him  to  Paris, 
leaving  him  to  his  own  discretion,  which,  however,  was  not  at 
first  to  be  trusted,  as  youthful  vanity  and  the  love  of  plea- 
sure betrayed  him  into  excesses  that  might  have  been  fatal 
to  his  literary  progress,  had  not  some  learned  friends,  to 
whom  he  was  introduced,  recalled  his  attention  to  mathe- 
matical studies,  which  he  again  prosecuted  in  a  solitary 
retirement  of  two  years.  Still,  however,  dissatisfied  with 
the  result  of  his  speculations,  he  entered  as  a  volunteer  in 
the  Dutch  army,  in  which  he  thought  he  would  have  op- 
portunities of  conversing  with  the  world ;  but  even  here 
his  natural  propensity  to  study  returned  ;  and  he  engaged 
in  mathematical  disquisitions  with  an  eminent  master  of 
that  science  at  Breda,  and  wrote  a  philosophical  disserta- 
tion, in  which  he  attempted  to  prove  that  brutes  are  autO' 
mata,  or  mere  machines.  From  the  Dutch  army  he  went 
into  the  Bavarian  service,  and  while  in  winter-quarters, 
being  informed  of  the  high  pretensions  of  the  Kosicru- 
cians,  he  endeavoured  to  discover  their  mysteries  ;  but 
finding  this  impossible,  or  rather  that  there  was  nothing  to 
be  discovered,  he  returned  to  the  humble  path  of  rational 


DESCARTES.  501 

inquiry.  Wherever  he  went  he  converse(^  with  learned 
men,  and  rather  appeared  in  the  character  of  a  philosopher 
than  a  soldier.  At  last  he  quitted  the  military  profession, 
and  after  a  tour  through  the  northern  parts  of  Germany, 
returned  to  his  own  country  in  1622,  with  no  other  profit 
from  his  travels,  as  he  himself  confesses,  than  that  they 
had  freed  him  from  iTiany  prejudices,  and  rendered  his 
mind  more  fit  for  the  reception  of  truth,  an  advantage  of 
no  small  importance,  if  he  could  have  availed  himself  of  it. 

Des  Cartes  now  for  a  while  made  Paris  his  place  of  resi- 
dence, and  returned  to  the  study  of  mathematics,  not  as 
an  ultimate  object  (for  he  thought  it  a  fruitless  labour  to 
fill  the  head  with  numbers  and  figures)  but  in  hopes  of 
discovering  general  principles  of  relations,  measures,  and 
proportions,  applicable  to  all  subjects,  by  means  of  which 
truth  might  be  with  certainty  investigated,  and  the  limits 
of  knowledge  materially  enlarged.  But  not  at  present 
succeeding  according  to  his  wishes  in  this  speculation,  he 
turned  his  attention  chiefly  to  ethical  inquiries,  and  at- 
tempted to  raise  a  superstructure  of  morals  upon  the  foun- 
dation of  natural  science  ;  for  he  was  of  opinion,  that  there 
could  be  no  better  means  of  discovering  the  true  princi- 
ples and  rules  of  action,  than  by  contemplating  our  owa 
nature,  and  the  nature  of  the  world  around  us.  This  in- 
vestigation produced  his  treatise  *'  On  the  Passions." 

Having  employed  a  short  time  in  these  studies,  Des 
Cartes  spent  about  two  years  in  Italy,  conversing  with 
eminent  mathematicians  and  philosophers,  and  attending 
to  various  objects  of  inquiry  in  natural  hfstory.  He  then 
returned  into  France  ;  but  his  mind  remaining  in  an  un- 
settled and  sceptical  state,  he  found  it  impossible  to  pursue 
any  regular  plan  of  life,  till  in  I62'j  he  determined  to 
withdraw  from  his  numerous  connexions  and  engagements 
in  Paris,  and  retire  into  some  foreign  country,  where  he 
might  remain  unknown,  and  have  full  leisure  to  complete 
his  great  design  of  framing  a  new  system  of  philosophy. 
Tho  country  he  chose  for  this  purpose  v/as  Holland  ;  and 
he  went  thither  with  so  much  secrecy,  that  the  place  of 
his  retirement  was  for  some  time  known  only  to  his  inti- 
mate friend,  Marsenne,  at  Paris.  He  at  first  resided  near 
Amsterdam,  but  afterwards  went  into  the  more  northern 
provinces,  and  visited  Deventer  and  Lewarden  ;  he  at  last 
fixed  upon  Egmond,  in  the  province  of  Friesland,  as  iUq 
place  of  his  more  suited  residence, 


503  DESCARTES. 

In  this  retirement,  Des  Cartes  employed  himself  in  inves- 
tigating  a  proof  from   reason,  independent  of  revelation^ 
cf  those  fundamental  points  in  religion,  the  existence  of 
God,  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.     This  he  brought 
forward  in  his  "  Meditationes  philosophicse  de  prima  phi- 
losophia."     At  the  same  time  he  pursued  the   study  of 
optics,  cuhivated  medicine,  anatomy,  and  chemistry-,  and 
wrote  an  astronomical  treatise  on  the  system  of  the  world  ; 
but  hearing  of  the  fate  of  Galileo,  he  did  not  publish  it. 
His    philosophical    tenets   were    first  introduced   into   the 
schools  at  Deventer  in  1633,  by  Henry  Rener,  professor 
of  philosophy,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Gassendi.     Not 
long  afterwards,    when   he  published  a  specimen   of  his 
philosophy  in  four  treatises,  the  number  of  his  admirers 
soon  increased  at   Leyden,  Utrecht,   and  Amsterdam  :  but 
some  divines  opposed  his  doctrines,  from  the  dread  of  in- 
novation, and  even  attempted  to  excite  the  civil  magistrate 
against  Des  Cartes.     In   England,  however,  he  was  more 
successful,    and  sir  Charles  Cavendish,   brother  to  the  earl 
of  Newcastle,   gave  him  an  invitation  to  settle  in  England. 
Charles  I.  also  gave  him  reason  to  expect  a  liberal  appoint- 
ment ;   but   the   rebellion   frustrated   this  design,  and  Des 
.  Cartes  remained  in   Holland.     In   his   native  country,   his 
doctrine  was  at  first  well  received,  but  a  strong  party  soon 

rose  against  it  amonsc  the   Jesuits.     Bonrden,  one  of  the 

•         1       1 
fraternity,    attacked    his    dioptrics  in   the  public   schools, 

and  a  violent  contest  was  long  iiept  np  between  the  Jesuits 
and  Cartesians.  In  the  course  of  the  disputes  which  the 
Cartesian  philoso[)hy  occasioned,  Des  Cartes  himself  ap- 
peared earnestly  desirous  to  become  the  father  of  a  sect, 
and  discovered  more  jealousy  and  ambition  than  became  a 
philosopher. 

During  the  course  of  Des  Cartes'  residence  in  Holland, 
he  paid  three  visits  to  his  native  country;  one  in  1643, 
when  he  published  an  abstract  of  his  philosophy,  nnder  the 
title  of  "  Specimina  Philosophica,"  the  second  and  third, 
in  1647  and  1648,  when  he  was  amused  with  a  promise  of 
an  annual  pension  of  three  thousand  livres,  which  he  never 
received.  His  chagrin  upon  this  disappointment  was, 
however,  relieved  by  an  invitation  which,  through  the 
hands  of  the  French  ambassador,  he  received  from  Chris- 
tina, queen  of  Sweden,  to  visit  Stockholm.  That  learned 
princess  had  read  his  treatise  "  On  the  Passions"  with  great 
delight,    and  was  earnestly  desirous  to  be  instructed  by 


DESCARTES.  5QS 

him  in  the  principles  of  his  philosophy.  Des  Cartes,  not- 
withstanding the  difficulties  which  lie  apprehended  from 
the  severity  of  the  climate,  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept 
the  invitation,  and  arrived  at  Stockholm  in  1649.  The 
queen  gave  him  a  respectful  reception  ;  and  the  singular 
talents  which  he  discovered,  induced  her  earnestly  to 
solicit  this  eminent  philosopher  to  remain  in  her  kingdom, 
and  assist  her  in  establishing  an  academy  of  sciences.  But 
Des  Cartes  had  not  been  more  than  four  months  in  Swe- 
den, when  a  cold  which  he  caught  in  his  early  morning 
visits  to  the  queen,  whom  he  instructed  in  philosophy, 
brought  on  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  which  soon  put  a 
period  to  his  life.  The  queen  is  said  to  have  lamented  his 
death  with  tears.  His  remains  were  interred,  at  the  request 
of  the  French  ambassador,  in  the  cemetery  for  foreigners, 
and  a  long  historical  eulogium  was  inscribed  upon  his  tomb. 
Des  Cartes  died  Feb.  1 1,  1650.  His  remains  were  after- 
wards, in  1656,  carried  from  Sweden  into  France,  and 
interred  with  great  pomp  in  the  church  of  St.  Genevieve 
du  Mont. 

Des  Cartes'  writings  prove  him  to  have  possessed  an 
accurate  and  penetrating  judgment,  a  fertile  invention, 
and  a  mind  superior  to  prejudice  ;  but  he  would  have  been 
more  successful  had  he  been  less  desirous  of  applying  ma- 
thematical principles  and  reasonings  to  subjects  which  do 
not  admit  of  them ;  had  he  set  less  value  upon  mere  con- 
jectures ;  and  had  he  been  less  ambitious  of  the  honour  of 
founding  a  new  sect  in  philosophy.  Brucker,  to  whom,  or 
to  the  Cyclopaedia,  we  refer  for  a  sketch  of  the  Cartesian 
philosophy,  remarks  that  although  some  parts  of  it  appear 
to  have  been  derived  from  the  Grecian  philosophy,  parti- 
cularly the  notion  of  innate  ideas,  and  of  the  action  of 
the  soul  upon  the  body,  from  Plato  ;  the  doctrine  of  a 
plenum  from  Aristotle  ;  and  the  elements  of  the  doctrine 
of  vortices  from  the  atomic  school  of  Democritus  and  Epi- 
curus ;  Des  Cartes  must,  nevertheless,  be  confessed  to 
have  discovered  great  subtlety  and  depth  of  thought,  as 
well  as  fertility  of  imagination,  and  to  have  merited  a  dis- 
tinguished place  among  the  improvers  of  pliilosophy.  But 
his  labours  would  have  been  more  valuable,  had  he  not 
suffered  himself  to  be  led  astray  into  the  romantic  regions 
of  hypothesis  by  the  false  notion,  that  the  nature  of  tilings 
may  be  better  understood  by  endeavouring  to  account  for 
appearances  from  hypothetical  principles,  than  by  inferring 


iOi  DES     CARTES. 

general  principles  from  an  attentive  observation  of  appear- 
ances.     His  fondness  for  hypotiiesis  led   him  to  confound 
the  ideas  of  attribute  and  substance,  as  in  his  definition  of 
matter  and  space  ;  and  those  of  possibility  and  probability, 
as  in  his  doctrine  of  vortices.  Even  his  celebrated  argument 
for  the  existence  of  God  (which  by  the  way,  was  maintained 
before  his  time  by  the  scholastic  Anselm)   confounds  the 
idea  of  an  infinite  being  with  the  actual  existence  of  that 
being,  and  substitutes  a  mere  conception  of  the  meaning 
of  a  term,  in  the  place  of  the  idea  of  a  being  really  and 
substantially  existing.     Hetice,  though   Des  Cartes  is  by 
no  means  to  be  ranked  among  the  enemies  of  religion,  as 
he  was  by  many  of  his  conteniporaries  ;  though  it  be  even 
true,  that  his  whole  system  is  built  upon  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  supposes   his  agency;  it  must  nevertheless  be 
regretted,   that  in  establishing  the  doctrine  of  deity,  he 
forsook  the  clear  and  satisfactory  ground  of  final   causes, 
and  had  recourse  to  a  subtle  argument,  which   few  can 
comprehend,   and  with  which  fewer  still  will  be  fully  satis- 
fied.    The  system  of  Des  Cartes,  notwithstanding  its  de- 
fects,  had   so   much  subtlety,    ingenuity,   and   originality, 
that  it  not  only  engaged  the  universal  attention   of  the 
learned,  but  long  continued,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  opposi- 
tion which  it  met  with  from  the  professed  enemies  of  inno- 
vation, to    be   zealously   defended   by  many  able   writers, 
and  to  be  publicly  taught  in  the  schools,  throughout  all 
Europe,  until  at  length  the  more  sober  method  of  philoso- 
phising, introduced  by  lord  Bacon,  began  to  be  generally 
adopted. 

We  shall  now  subjoin  some  additional  testimonies  to  his 
character.  M.  Baillet,  in  his  account  of  his  life,  &c.  highly 
commends  him  for  his  contempt  of  wealth  and  fame,  his 
love  of  truth,  his  modesty,  disinterestedness,  moderation, 
piety,  and  submission  to  the  authority  of  the  church.  Dr. 
Barrow,  in  his  "  Opuscula,"  tells  us,  that  he  was  undoubt- 
edly a  very  good  and  ingenious  man,  and  a  real  philoso- 
pher, and  one  who  seems  to  have  brought  those  assistances 
to  that  part  of  philosophy  which  relates  to  matter  and  mo- 
tion, which,  perhaps,  no  other  had  done  ;  that  is,  a  great 
skill  in  mathematics,  a  mind  habituated  both  by  nature  and 
custom  to  profound  meditation,  a  judgment  exempt  from 
all  prejudices  and  popular  errors,  and  furnished  with  acon- 
uiderable  number  of  certain  and  select  experiments,  a  great 
deal  of  leisure,  entirely  disengaged  by  his  own  choice  frora 


DESCARTES.  505 

the  reading  of  useless  books,  and  the  avocations  of  life,  with 
an  incomparable  acuteness  of  wit,  and  an  excellent  talent 
of  thinking  clearly  and  disiinctly,  and  expressing  his 
thoughts  with  the  utmost  perspicuity.  Dr.  Malley  (see 
Wotton's  Reflections  upon  Ancient  and  Modern  Learning) 
says,  "  As  to  dioptrics,  though  some  of  the  ancients  men- 
tion refraction  as  a  natural  eft'ect  of  transparent  media,  yet 
Des  Cartes  was  the  first  who,  in  this  age,  has  discovered 
the  laws  of  refraction,  and  brought  dioptrics  into  a  science." 
Wotton  (ubi  supra)  though  he  degrades  him  in  comparison 
with  lord  Bacon,  wliom  lie  soon  succeeded,  and  censures 
him  for  too  precipitately  drawing  conclusions  without  a 
sufficient  number  of  previous  experiments,  observes  ne- 
vertheless, that  "to  a  vast  genius  he  joined  an  exquisite 
skill  in  geometry,  so  that  he  wrought  upon  intelligible 
principles  in  an  intelligible  manner,  though  he  very  often 
failed  in  one  part  of  his  end,  namely,  a  right  explication 
of  the  phoenomena  of  nature  ;  yet,  by  marrying  geometry 
and  physics  together,  he  put  the  world  in  hopes  of  a  mas- 
culine offspring  in  process  of  time,  though  the  first  pro- 
ductions should  prove  abortive."  Dr.  Keil,  in  the  intro- 
duction to  his  "  Examination  of  Burnet's  Theory  of  the 
Earth,"  animadverting  on  Wotton's  reflections,  &c.  tells 
us,  that  Des  Cartes  was  so  far  from  applying  geometry  and 
observations  to  natural  philosophy,  that  his  whole  system 
is  but  one  continued  blunder  on  account  of  his  negligence 
in  that  point;  which  he  could  easily  prove  by  shewing, 
that  his  theory  of  the  vortices,  upon  which  the  whole  sys- 
tem is  grounded,  is  absolutely  false  ;  and  that  sir  Isaac 
Newton  has  shewn,  that  the  periodical  times  of  all  bodies, 
which  swim  in  a  vortex,  must  be  directly  as  the  squares  of 
their  distances  from  the  centre  of  the  vortex.  But  it  is 
evident,  from  observations,  that  the  planets,  in  turning 
round  the  sun,  observe  quite  another  law ;  for  the  squares 
of  their  periodical  times  are  always  as  the  cubes  of  their 
distances;  and,  therefore,  since  they  do  not  observe  that 
law,  which  they  necessarily  must,  ii  they  swim  in  a  vortex, 
it  is  a  demonstration  that  there  are  no  vortices,  in  which 
the  planets  are  carried  round  the  sun  : — with  more  to  the 
same  purpose.  Mr.  Baker,  considering  the  natural  philo- 
sophy of  Des  Cartes,  observes,  that  "  though  it  would  be 
very  unjust  to  charge  Des  Cartes  with  the  denial  ot'  a  God, 
who  is  supposed  by  him  to  have  created  matter,  and  to 
have  impressed  the  first  motion  upon  it,  yet  he  is  blameable, 


506  DESCARTES. 

that  after  the  first  motion  is  impressed,  and  the  wheels  set 
a-going,  he  leaves  liis  vast  machine  to  the  laws  of  me- 
chanism, and  supposes  that  all  things  may  be  thereby  pro- 
duced without  any  further  extraordinary  assistance  from 
the  first  impressor.  The  supposition  is  impious ;  and,  as 
he  states  it,  destructive  of  itself;  for,  not  to  deny  him  his 
laws  of  motion,  most  of  which  have  been  evidently  shewn 
to  be  false,  and  consequently  so  must  all  be  that  is  built 
upon  them,  his  notion  of  matter  is  inconsistent  with  any 
motion  at  all ;  for,  as  space  and  matter  are  with  him  the 
same,  upon  this  supposition  there  can  be  no  motion  in  a 
plenum."  Dr.  Keil  condemns  Des  Cartes  for  encouraging 
the  presumptuous  pride  of  the  modern  philosophers  ;  who 
think  they  understand  all  the  works  of  nature,  and  are  able 
to  give  a  good  account  of  them.  Mr.  Leibnitz,  whilst  he 
acknowledges  that  Des  Cartes  was  a  very  learned  man,  and 
bad  read  more  than  his  followers  imagine,  and  that  he  was 
one  of  those  who  has  added  most  to  the  discoveries  of  their 
predecessors,  observes,  that  those  who  rest  entirely  in 
bim,  are  much  mistaken  in  their  conduct ;  and  this,  he 
says,  is  true,  even  with  regard  to  geometry  itself.  He  also 
remarks,  that  Des  Cartes  endeavoured  to  correct  some 
errors  with  regard  to  natural  philosophy,  but  that  his  pre- 
sumption and  contemptuous  manner  of  writing,  together 
with  the  obscurity  of  his  style,  and  his  confusion,  and  se- 
vere treatment  of  others,  are  very  disagreeable.  Rapin, 
in  his  "  Reflexions  de  Physique,"  after  observing  that  Des 
Cartes's  principles  of  motion,  figure,  and  extension,  are 
almost  the  very  same  with  those  of  Democritus  and  Epi- 
curus, tells  us,  that  father  Mersenne  mentioned  in  an 
assembly  of  learned  men,  that  Des  Cartes,  who  had  gained 
great  reputation  by  his  geometry,  was  preparing  a  system 
of  natural  philosophy,  in  which  he  admitted  a  vacuum ; 
but  the  notion  was  ridiculed  by  Roberval  and  some  others; 
upon  which  Mersenne  wrote  to  him,  that  a  vacuum  was 
not  then  in  fashion  at  Paris,  which  induced  Des  Cartes  to 
change  his  scheme,  in  complaisance  to  the  natural  philo- 
sophers whom  he  studied  to  please,  and  admit  the  plenum 
of  Leucippus ;  "  so  that,"  says  father  Rapin,  "  the  exclu^ 
sion  of  a  vacuum  became  one  of  his  principles,  merely  from 
political  considerations."  Rapin  produces  no  authority 
for  this  story  ;  and  it  should  be  recollected,  that  he  was  a 
very  zealous  Aristotelian,  extremely  prejudiced  against 
any  new  systems  of  philosophy. 


DESCARTES.  507 

Des  Cartes,  it  is  said,  imagined  it  possible  to  prolong 
life  very  considerably  beyond   the   common    period,  and 
thought  he  had  discovered  the  method   of  doing  it.     In 
conversation  with  sir  Kenelm  Digby,  Des  Cartes  assured 
him  that,  having  already  considered  that  matter,  he  would 
not  venture  to  promise  to  render  a  man  immortal;  but  that 
be  was  very  sure  it  was  possible  to  lengthen  out  his  life  to 
the  period  of  the  patriarchs.     It  seems  evident  to  me,  says 
he,  in  a  letter  written  to  M.  de  Zuyhchem  from  Egmond, 
in  1638,  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  forty-two  years, 
that  if  we   only  guarded  against  certain  errors,   which  we 
are  accustomed  to  commit  in   the  course  of  our  diet,  we 
might,  without  any  other  invention,  attain  to  an  old  age, 
much  longer  and  more  happy  than  now  we  do.     However, 
twelve  years  after  this  declaration   was  made,   our  philo- 
sopher died.     Des  Cartes  was  never  married,  but  had  one 
iiatural  daughter,  named  Francina,  wlio  died  at  five  years 
of  age.     Of  his  works   there  have  been  several  editions ; 
particularly    a  Latin  edition,   Amst.    1701  — 1715,    9   vols. 
4to.     That  published  at  Paris  comprehends  15  volumes  in 
l2mo,  and  their  contents  are  as  follow;  viz.  "  Lettres  de 
M.  Des  Cartes,  ou  I'on  a  joint  le  L:\tin  de  plusieurs  lettres, 
qui  n'avoient  ete  imprimees  qu'en  Francois,  avec  une   tra- 
duction  Fran9ois  de  celles,  qui  n'avoient  jusqu'a  present 
paru  qu'en  Latin,"   1724,  6  vols.     "  Les  Meditations  me- 
taphysiques   touchant  la    premiere   philosophie,"    1724,  2 
vols.    "  Discours  de  la  methode,  pour   bien  conduire  sa 
raison,  et  chercher  la  verii6  dans   les  sciences.     Plus  la 
dioptrique,  les  meteores,  la  mechanique,  et  la  musique,'* 
1724,  2  vols.      "  Lt'S  Principes  de  la   Phdosophie,"    1724-, 
1  vol,     "  Les  Passions  de   I'Ame.     Le  Monde,  ou  traite 
de  la  lumiere.     Edition  augmentde  d'un  discours  sur  le 
mouvcment  local  et  siir  la  fievre,  sur  les  principes  du  meme 
auteur,"   1728,   1  vol.    "  L' Homme  de  Ren6   Des  Cartes, 
et  la  formation  du  foetus;  avec  les  remarques  de  Louis  de 
la  Forge,"  1722,   1  vol. 

In  reference  to  the  dispute  between  his  friends  and  those 
of  Harriot,  as  to  the  priority  of  their  discoveries,  we  shall 
here  add  an  anecdote  told  by  Dr.  Pell,  and  recorded  by 
Dr.  Wallis  in  his  "Algebra."  Sir  Charles  Cavendish, 
then  resident  at  Paris,  had  a  conversation  with  M.  Rober- 
val  concerning  Des  Cartes's  geometry,  then  lately  pub- 
lished, to  this  purport:  "  I  admire,"  says  Roberval,  "  that 
method   of  Des  Cartes,  of  placing  ail  the  terms  of  the 


508  DESCARTES. 

equation  on  one  side,  making  the  whole  equal  to  nothing,  and 
haw  it  occurred  to  him  :  "  The  reason  why  you  admire  it," 
said  sir  Charles,  "  is,  because  you  are  a  Frenchman  ;  for  if 
you  were  an  Englishman,  you  would  not  admire  it."  "  Why 
so  ?"  asked  Roberval.  "  Because,"  replied  sir  Charles,  "  we 
in  England  know  whence  he  had  it;  namely,  from  Har- 
riot's Algebra."  "  What  book  is  that  r"  says  Roberval ;  "  I 
never  saw  it."  "  Next  time  you  come  to  my  chamber,"  said 
sir  Charles,  "  I  will  shew  it  to  you ;"  which,  some  time  after, 
he  did  ;  and,  upon  perusal  of  it,  Roberval  exclaimed  with 
admiration,  //  Va  vii  I  Jl  Va  vu  !  He  had  seen  it  I  He 
had  seen  it !  findino-  all  that  in  Harriot  which  he  had  be- 
fore  admired  in  Des  Cartes,  and  not  doubting  that  Des 
Caries  had  it  from  thence.  Besides,  as  Harriot's  "  Artis 
Analyticae  Praxis"  was  published  in  1631,  and  Des  Cartes 
was  in  England  about  this  time,  and  as  he  follows  the 
manner  of  Harriot,  except  in  the  method  of  noting  the 
powers,  it  is  highly  probable  that  he  was  more  indebted  to 
the  English  algebraist  than  his  partial  advocates  are  willing 
to  allow.  * 

DESGODETZ  (Anthony),  a  very  eminent  French  ar- 
chitect, was  born  at  Paris  in  1653,  and  in  1674  was  com- 
missioned by  Colbert  to  go  to  Rome  with  some  other  aca- 
demicians, but  in  the  voyage  they  had  the  misfortune  to 
be  taken  by  a  pirate  and  carried  into  Algiers,  where  they 
remained  for  sixteen  months,  until  redeemed  by  the  king 
of  France's  orders.  He  then  went  with  his  companions  to 
Rome,  where  he  applied  with  singular  assiduity  to  the 
survey  of  the  ancient  buildings  of  that  metropolis.  He  in- 
forms us,  that  when  he  undertook  to  measure  the  antiquities 
of  Rome,  his  chief  intention  was,  to  learn  which  of  the 
authors  in  most  esteem  ou<2ht  to  be  followed,  as  having 
given  the  most  accurate  measures ;  but  he  soon  found  reason 
to  be  convinced  that  they  were  all  extremely  defective  in 
point  of  precision.  This  fault,  however,  he  candidly  im- 
putes not  to  those  authors  themselves,  but  to  the  workmen 
who  had  been  en)ployed  in  their  service.  To  prevent  his 
being  led  into  the  same  errors,  he  took  the  measures  of  all 
the  ancient  structures  exactly,  with  his  own  hands,  and 
repeated  the  whole  several  times,  that  he  might  arrive  at 
an  absolute  certainty  ;  causing  feuch  of  the  buildings  as 

I  Brucker. — Moreri. — Raillet  Vie  de  Descartes,— Rees's  Cj'clopaediaj  &;c.«»« 
Saxii  Ouotr.abt.  in  ait.  Cailcsius, 


D  E  S  G  O  D  E  T  Z.  509 

»vere  under  ground  to  be  cleared,  and  erecting  ladders  and 
other  nnachines  to  get  at  those  which  were  elevated.    When 
he  returned  to  Paris  he  communicated  his  drawings  to  the 
members  of  the   royal   academy  of  architecture,  and  Col- 
bert recommended  them  to   the  king,   who  caused  them  to 
be  published   at  his  own  expence,  in  a  splendid  folio  vo- 
lume,  1682,  and   allotted   all    the    profits    to  the   author. 
The  plates  of  this  work  remained  in  the  family  of  a  con- 
noisseur until  1779,  when  they  were  purchased  of  his  heirs 
for  a  new  edition  ;  but  before  this,  in  1771,  Mr.  Marshal 
published  a  splendid  edition  at  London,   with  the  descrip- 
tions in  French  and  English.     In  1776  "  Le  Lois  des  Ba- 
timens"  was  printed  from  his  manuscripts.     In  1680  Col- 
bert promoted  him  to  the  office  of  gomptroller  of  the  royal 
buildings  at  Chambor,   but  in  1694-  he  was  recalled  to  hold 
the  same  office  at  Paris.     In  1699  he  was  made  king's  ar» 
chitect,  with  a  pension  of  2000  livres.     In  1715>  he  suc- 
ceeded M.  de  la  Hire  as  professor  of  architecture,  and 
commenced   a   course  of  lectures    in  June    of  that  year, 
which  he  continued  with  great  applause  and  success  until 
his  death.   May  20,  1728.      He   was   a  man  of  an  amiable 
and  estimable  character  in  private  life.' 

DESHAIS  (John  Baptist  Henry),  an  Ingenious  French 
painter,   was   born  at  Rouen  in   Normandy,  in  1729.     He 
received  tiie  first  elements  of  design  from  his  father,  and 
afterwards    practised   at  Paris,   under   M.    Vermont  ;    but 
learned   from  Restout    those    excellent  principles    which 
he  afterwards  cultivated  with  so  much   success,  and  soon 
obtained  many  of  the  medals  which  tlie  academy  gave  as 
prizes  for  design.     In  a  journey  he  took  to  Rouen   (his 
native  place),  he  obtained  several  commissions  for  histo- 
rical pieces,  several  of  which  he  executed  while  under  M. 
Restout.     His  picture  of  Potiphar's  wife,  which  he  painted 
as  a  candidate  for  the  academy's  prize,  procured  him  the 
friendship  of  M.  Boucher,  at  that  time  principal  painter  to 
the  king,  and  Restout  consented  to  yield  the  young  De- 
shais,  as   an  eleve  of  that  artist.     In  1751  he  carried  the 
first  prize  of  the  academy  ;  and  in  consequence  became  a 
disciple  of  the  king's  school,  under  the  direction  of  M. 
Carlo  Vanloo;  and  during  three  years  he   profited  much 
bv  the  instructions  he  received  from  that  great  master,  ex- 
ecuting many  pieces  of  great  merit.     After  this,  he  re- 

*■  Mare d.— Diet.  Hwt, 


510  D  E  S  H  A  I  S. 

sided  some  time  at  Rome  ;  and  in  spite  of  very  bad  health, 
prosecuted  his  profession  with  unremitting  diligence,  and 
great    success.     On    his   return  to  Paris,    he  married  the 
daughter  of  M.  Boucher,  and  was  received  into  the  academy 
with   universal  approbation  :  the  pictures   which  he  pre- 
sented on  that  occasion  were  of  such  merit  as  to  give  very 
sanguine  hopes  that  he  would  one  day  become  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  French  artists.     Every  successive  exhibition 
at  the  Louvre  proved  in  the  clearest  manner,  that  his  repu- 
tation was  fixed  on  the  surest  foundation  :  but  he  died  in 
the  midst  of  his  career,  in  the  beginning  of  1765.     The 
principal  of  his  works  are,  the  History  of  St.  Andrew,  in 
four  large   pictures,  at  Rouen  ;  the  Adventures  of  Helen, 
in  nine  pieces,  for  the  manufactory  of  Beauvais  ;  the  Death 
of  St.  Benet,  at  Orleans  ;  the  Deliverance  of  St.  Peter,  at 
Versailles.     The  Marriage  of  the  Virgin  is  a  subject  sim- 
ple in   itself,  but  is  nobly  elevated  by  the  painter.     The 
grand  priest  is  standing  up,  and  turned  towards  the  sacred 
spouse ;    his    arms   are   extended,    and    his    countenance 
directed  towards  the  illuminated  glory.     Scarce  any  thing 
can  be  more  expressive  than  the  air  of  this  head.     The 
grandeur  and  the  majestic  simplicity  of  the  virgin's  head 
are  also  finely  conceived;  and  her  whole  figure  admirable. 
The  picturesque  composition  of  the  groupe  is  very  well  ma- 
naged— the  draperies  are  in  a  bold  and  elegant  taste — the 
lights  and  shades   finely  imagined,    melting  into   all  the 
happy  effects  of  the  clear  obscure. — His  Resurrection  of 
Lazarus  is  full  of  expression  :  the  different  emotions  of 
surprise,  terror,  and  admiration  are  most  ingeniously  va- 
ried, and  finely  characterised  in  the  three  apostles.     The 
two  women  who  behold  the  miracle,   display  the  invention 
of  the  painter;  one  of  them  is  full  of  astonishment,  mixed 
with  terror,  at  the  idea  of  the  sight  before  her — the  other 
falls  prostrate  to  the  ground,  adoring  the  divine  worker  of 
the  miracle  :  the  whole  piece  is  full  of  character  and  ex- 
pression.    His  picture  of  Joseph's  Chastity  is  one  of  the 
finest  that  ever  issued  from  his  happy  pencil  :   Potiphar's 
wife   is   represented    darting    herself  from   the   bed,    and 
catching  Joseph  by  his  garment.     The  crime,  hope,  and 
fear  of  her  passion,  are  expressed  in  the  most  lively  man- 
ner in  her  eyes  and  countenance.     The  figure  of  Joseph  is 
well  designed  ;   but  it  was  on  the  woman  that  the  painter, 
with  great  justness,  bent  all  the  efforts  of  his  imagination, 
and  his  art.     Among  his  other  works  are  the  Combat  of 


D  E  S  H  A  I  S,  511 

Achilles  against  the  Xanthus  and  Simois;  Jupiter  and  An- 
tiope,  in  wliich  the  figure  of  the  woman  is  wonderfully  de- 
licate and  pleasing.  A  small  piece  representing  Study, 
very  fine.      Artemisia  at  the  tomb  of  her  husband,  &c. ' 

DESHOULIERES.     See  HOULIERES. 

DESIRE'  (Arthur),  a  fanatical  priest,  who,  destitute  of 
genius,  thought  to  supply  that  defect  by  buffooneries  and 
plots  against  the  Calvinists.  He  was  arrested  on  the  Loire 
1561,  charged  with  a  petition  of  the  monks  to  Philip  IL 
that  he  would  succour  religion,  which  was  in  great  danger. 
The  JDarliament  sentenced  him  to  the  amende  honorable, 
and  five  years'  confinement  among  the  Carthusians.  He 
was  living  in  J 578.  His  works  are  numerous,  and  as  dull 
as  their  titles  promise  :  "  Dispute  de  Guillot  le  Porcher, 
contre  Jean  Calvin,"  1568,  l6mo;  "  Les  grands  jours  du 
Parlement  de  Dieu,  public  par  St.  Matthieu  ;"  "  Les  Ra- 
vages et  le  D6luge  des  Chevaux  de  louage,  avec  le  retour 
de  Guillot  le  Porcher ;"  "  Sur  les  Miseres  et  les  Calamites 
du  R^gne  present;"  "  Les  Combats  du  fidele  Papiste, 
contre  i'Apostat  Antipapiste,"  Lyons,   1555,    16mo.  * 

DESLANDES  (Andrew  Francis  Boureau),  a  French 
writer,  who  might  have  been  an  able  coadjutor,  in  the 
cause  of  infidelity,  to  the  D'Alemberts,  Diderots,  and  Vol- 
taires  of  France,  was  born  at  Pondicherry  in  1690.  His 
father,  who  resided  here,  was  a  director  of  the  French 
East  India  company,  and  died  at  St.  Domingo  in  the  oflice 
of  commissary-general  of  the  marine.  He  was  the  author 
of  a  work  entitled  "  Remarques  historiques,  critiques,  et 
satiriques  d'un  cosmopolite,"  printed  by  his  son  at  Nantes, 
although  Cologne  is  on  the  title,  1731,  12mo,  His  son, 
the  object  of  this  article,  became  commissary-general  of 
the  marine  at  Rochefort  and  Brest,  and  a  member  of  the 
royal  academy  of  Berlin.  These  employments  and  honours 
he  resigned  in  his  latter  days,  and  died  at  Paris  in  1757. 
In  1713  he  came  to  London,  for  what  reason  we  have  not 
been  able  to  discover,  where  he  was  seized  with  the  small 
pox.  In  that  year  he  published  in  London  his  "  Littera- 
tum  Otium,"  in  which  he  has  very  successfully  imitated 
Catullus.  He  had  previously  printed  at  Paris  his  ''  Re- 
flexions sur  les  grands  hommes  qui  sont  morts  en  plaisau- 
tant,"   which   was  immediately  translated  by  Boyer,   and 

*  Diet.  Hist. — Cochin's  Essai  sur  la  vie  de  M.  Desbais, 
s  Moreri.— Nic^ron,  voi.  XXXV, 


512  D  E  S  L  A  N  D  E  S. 

published  at  London  under  the  title  of  "  A  Philological 
Essay,  or  Reflections  on  the  death  of  Freethinkers,  with 
tlie  characters  of  the  most  eminent  persons  of  both  sexes, 
ancient  and  modern,  that  died  pleasantly  and  uncon- 
cerned," 1714,  12mo.  It  would  appear  from  an  article 
in  the  Guardian,  No,  39,  that  he  had  expressed  some  com- 
punction during  his  sickness  for  having  written  this  book  ; 
but  on  his  recovery  he  took  equal  pains  to  prove  that  he 
was  as  unconcerned  as  ever.  The  work  itself  is  sufficiently 
contemptible,  and  in  the  opinion  even  of  his  countrymen, 
some  of  his  great  men  are  very  little  men  :  and,  what  is  of 
more  importance,  he  confounds  the  impiety  of  Doletus  and 
Yanini  with  the  intrepidity  and  firmness  of  Thuanus  and 
Montmorency,  and  others,  whose  heroism  was  founded  on 
religion.  At  the  conclusion  he  has  some  random  thoughts 
on  suicide,  and  the  gallantry  of  it,  and  informs  us  of  a 
curious  fact,  that  at  one  time  a  poisonous  draught  was  kept 
at  Marseilles,  at  the  public  expence,  ready  for  those  who 
desired  to  rid  themselves  of  life.  All  the  absurdities  and 
impiety  in  this  work  are  said  to  have  been  refuted  by  the 
author  himself,  who  on  his  death-bed,  by  a  solemn  act  in 
writing,  manifested  his  sincere  repentance.  Suck  is  the 
report  in  an  edition  printed  at  Rochefort  in  1758,  but  this 
is  flatly  contradicted  by  the  editors  of  the  Diet.  Hist,  who 
assure  us  that  he  persevered  in  his  infidelity  to  the  last, 
which  they  prove  by  some  despicable  verses  written  by 
him  when  near  his  death.  His  other  works  were,  1.  "  His- 
toire  critiijue  de  la  Philosophie,"  4  vols.  12mo,  the  first 
three  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1737.  In  this,  which  is 
poor  in  respect  of  style,  and  not  to  be  depended  on  in 
point  of  fact,  he  grossly  misrepresents  the  opinions  of  the 
philosophers  in  order  to  accommodate  them  to  his  own. 
2.  "Essai  sur  la  Marine  et  le  Commerce,"  which  was  trans- 
lated and  published  at  London,  under  the  title,  "  Essay  on 
Maritime  Power  and  Commerce,"  1743,  and  was  rathet 
inwre  valued  here  than  in  France.  3.  *'  Recueil  de  dif« 
ferents  traites  de  physique  et  d'histoire  naturelle,"  3  vols. 
12mo,  an  useful  collection.  4.  "  Histoire  de  Constance^ 
minister  de  Siam,"  1755,  12mo.  This  missionary  he  re- 
presents as  a  mere  adventurer,  the  victim  of  his  ambition, 
contrary  to  the  representation  given  by  father  Orleans, 
who,  in  the  life  of  Constance,  published  in  1690,  maintains 
that  he  was  a  pious  zealot.  Deslandes'  other  works,  less 
known,    are  "  Pygmalion,"    l2mo  ^    "Fortune,"    12nio; 


D  E  S  M  A  H  I  S.  513 

"  La  Comtesse  de  Montserrat,"  12mo ;  all  of  the  licentious 
kind.  • 

DESMAHIS  (Joseph  Francis  Edward  de  Corsem- 
bleu),  was  born  at  SuUy-sur-Loire  in  1722,  and  died  Feb. 
25,  176  1,  in  the  38th  year  of  his  age.      He  was  a  man  of 
great  talents,  and  his  heart  was  as  excellent  as  his  under- 
standing- :  no  man  took  a  greater  participation  in  the  suffer- 
ing of  his  fellow  creatures.     More  devoted  to  his  friends 
than    to    himself,    he    always    anticipated    their    desires. 
"  When  my  friend  laughs,"  said  he,   "  it  is  his  business  to 
inform  me  of  the  reason  of  his  joy  ;   when  he  weeps,  it  is 
min.e  to  discover  the  cause  of  his  sjrief."     He  never  soli- 
cited  eifther  favours  or  rewards.     Contented  with  the  com- 
mon  necessaries  of  life  and.  health,  he  was  unconcerned 
about  the  rest.    It  was  a  maxim  with  him,  that,  if  harmony 
reigned  among  literary  men,  notwithstanding  the  smallness 
of  their  number,  they  would  be  the  masters  of  the  world. 
Somebody  once  read  to  him  a  satirical  piece  of  poetry,  for 
his  advice,   "  Give   up  this  wretched  turn  for  ever,"  said 
he,  "  if  you  would  retain  any  connexion  with  me.     One 
more  satire,  and  we  break  at  once."     Modest  in  the  midst 
of  prosperity',  he  sometimes  said  to  his  friends:    "  Content 
to  live  on  terms  of  friendship  with  the  distinguished  cha- 
racters of  my  times,   I  have  not  the  ambition  to  wish  for  a 
place  among  them  in  the  temple  of  memory."     Very  early 
in  life  he  gave  proofs  of  the  facility  of  his  genius,  and  had 
the  art  of  blending  study  and  philosophy  with  pleasure. 
He  wrote  the  comedy  of  the   "  Impertinent,"  which  was 
much  applauded.    It  is  not  indeed  in  the  style  of  Moliere  ; 
but  it  contains  good  pictures  of  real  life,  ingenious  turns  of 
wit,  judicious  sentiments,  and  the  principal   character  is 
well   drawn.     2.  Miscellaneous  works.     A   soft  and  light 
vein   of  poetry,  an   easy  and  harmonious  versification,  a 
lively  colouring,  delicate  and  well-turned  thoughts,  are  the 
characteristics  of  this  collection,  in  which  the  "  Voyage 
de  Saint-Germain"  rises  superior  to  the  rest.     It  is  easy  to 
perceive  that  the  author  had  taken  Voltaire  for  his  model, 
and  is  not  unsuccessful  in  his  imitation.  A  complete  edition 
of  his  works,  from  his  own  manuscripts,  appeared  in  1117 f 
with  a  life  of  the  author,   Paris,  2  vols.  12mo.  ^ 

DESMAISEAUX,    or   DES  MAISEAUX    (Peter),   a 
fellow   of    the   royal    society   of    London,    was    born    in 

»  Diet.  Hist.— Malone's  Drydeii,  voL  I.  p.  343.  «  Diet.  Hist. 

Vol.  XI.  L  l 


S14  B  E  S  M  A  I  S  E  A  U  X. 

Auvergne,  in  France,  in  1666,  and  was  the  son  o(  a  prote§* 
tant  clergyman.     He  came  over  in  his  youth  to  England, 
and  appears  to  have  led  the  life  of  a  man  of  letters,  con- 
tinually employed  in  composing  or  editing  literary  works. 
In   1720  he  was  elected  F.  R.  S.   and   from  his  numerous 
letters  in  the  British  Museum,  appears  to  have  carried  on 
a  very  extensive  correspondence  with  the  learned  men  of 
his  time,  especially  St.  Evremont  and  Bayle.     He  died  at 
London  in  June  1745.  Bayle  he  assisted  with  many  articles 
and  remarks  for  his  Dictionary,  and  published  his  "  Let- 
ters" at  Amsterdam,  1729,  3  vols.  12uiO,  with  a  variety  of 
observations,  which  shew  an  extensive  knowledge  of  mo- 
dern literature.     He  also  wrote  the  life   of  Bayle,   which 
was  prefixed  to  the  edition  of  his  Dictionary  published  in 
1730,  and  was  reprinted  at    the   Hague   in  2  vols.   1732, 
I2mo.     By  a  letter  in  the  beginning  from  Desmaiseaux  t» 
M.  la  Motte,  it  appears  that  the  latter  had  induced  him  to 
undertake  this  life  of  his  friend.  In  1732  he  edited  Bayle's 
Miscellaneous  Works  in  4  vols,  folio,  and  probably  was  like- 
wise   the   author  of  the  *'  Nouvelles  Lettres   de   Pierre 
Bayle,"   Hague,   1739,  2   vols.    12mo.     His  intimacy  and 
friendship  for  St.  Evremond   led   him   to  publish  the  life 
and  works  of  that  writer,  in    1709,   3  vols.   4to   and   8vo, 
often  reprinted  and  translated  into  English.      He  also  pub- 
lished the  lives  of  Boileau  in  French,  and  of  Chillingworth 
and   Hales  of  Eton  in  English,   which  he   wrote  fluently. 
For  some  time  it  is  said  he  was  engaoed   in   an   Enorlish 
Dictionary,  historical  and  critical,  in  the  manner  of  Bayle, 
but  no  part  of  it  appears  to  have  been  published,  except 
the  above-mentioned  Life  of  Hales,  in  I7l9,   which  was 
professedly  a  specimen   of  the  intended  Dictionary.     lu 
1720  he  published  some  pieces  of  Locke's  which  had  not 
been  inserted  in  his  works ;  and  the  same  year  *'  Kecueil 
de  diverses  pieces  sur  la  philosophie,  la  religion  naturelle, 
I'iiistoire,  les   mathematiques,   &c."  by  Leibnitz,   Clarke, 
K^ewton,  and  others;  Amst.  2  vols.  12mo.     He   appears 
likewise  to  have   been   the  editor  of  the    "  Scaligeraoa, 
Thuana,  I'erroniana,   Pithoeana,   et  Colomesiana,"  Amst. 
1711,2  vols.     Besides  these,  and  his  translation  of  Bayle's 
Dictionary,   he  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  literary- 
Journals  of  his  time,  particularly  the  *'  Bibliotlieque  Rai- 
s.onae"  and  "  The  Republic  of  Letters."  * 

*  JMorer>. 


D  E  S  M  A  R  E  S.  515 

I3ESMARAIS.     See  REGNIER. 

pESMARES  (ToyssAiN  e),  priest  of  tJj/e  oratory,  famous 
for  his   sermons,   was  bom    in    1599  at  Vire  in  Nonnaiidy. 
He  first  studied  at  Caen,  put  himself  under  the  direction 
of  cardinal  de  Beri^lle,  and  entered  into  his  congregation. 
He  afterwards  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Holy 
.Scri]),tures  and  the  fathers,  and  became  a  very  celebrated 
preacher.      He  was  sent  to  Rome  to  defend  the  d(jctrine  of 
Janseniusj  where  he  pronounced  a  discourse  on  that  sub- 
ject before  Innocent  X.  which  may  be  seen  in  the  "Journal 
de  Saint-Amour."      His  attachment  to  the  opinions  of  Jan- 
senius  was  the  cause  or  the  pretext  of  searcli  being  made 
^fter  him  in   order  to  convey  him  to   the  Bastille,   but  he 
escaped  the  pursuit,  and  retired  for  the  rest  of  his  days  to 
the  seat  of  the  duke  de  Liancourt,  in  the  diocese  of  Beau- 
vais.     One  day,  when  Louis  Xiy.  happened  to  be  there, 
the  duke  presented  Desmares  to  him.     The  old  man  said 
to  the  monarch,  with  an  air  of  respect  and  freedom  :   "  Sir, 
I  ask  a  boon  of  you."     "  Ask,"   returned   Louis,   *'  and  I 
will  grant  it  you."      "  Sir,"  replied  the  old   man,  "  per- 
uiit  me  to  put  oiT  my  spectacles,   that  I  may  contemplate 
the  countenance  of  my  king-"      Louis  XIV.  declared  that 
of  all  the  variety  of  compliments  that  had  been  paid  him, 
none   ever  pleased  him  more  than  this.      Desmares  died 
in   1(587,   at  the  age    of  87,    after   having   cijmposed   the' 
*' Necrologe    de  Port-royal,"    printed   in    1723,    4to,    to 
\vhich  a  supplement  was  added  by  Le  Fevre  de  S,t.  Marc, 
in  17,>5  ;  "  Description  de  I'abbaye  de  la  Trappe,"  Lyons, 
1683,  and  various  theological  and  controversial  works,  enu- 
merated by  IMoreri. ' 
DESMARETS.     See  MARETS. 

DESMOLETS  (Peter  Nicolas),  librarian  of  the  house 
of  the  oratory  in  the  rue  St.  Honore,  Paris,  was  born  in 
1677,  and  appears  to  have  devoted  much  of  his  time  to 
literary  history,  and  became  the  friend  and  correspondent 
of  most  of  the  eminent  scholars  of  France,  by  wln)m  he 
was  admired  not  more  for  his  extensive  knowledge  than 
his  amiable  manners.  He  died  at  Paris  April  2(5,  1760, 
His  principal  work  is  a  continuation  of  Sallengre's  "  JMe- 
moires  de  litterature,"  1726 — 1731,  11  vols.  12mo.  The 
abb6  Gouget  had  some  hand  in  this  collection,  which  con- 
laips  many   curious    articles.     Desmolets   also  published 

1  Moreri.— Diet.  Hist. 
L  L   2 


516  D  E  S  M  O  L  E  T  S. 

*'  Recueil  de  pieces  d'histoire  et  de  litterature,"  Paris, 
1731,  4  vols.  12mo,  and  was  editor  of  father  Lanii's  trea- 
tise "  De  Tabernaculo  foederis,"  Paris,  folio,  and  of  other 
works.  * 

DESMOUSTIER,  or   DEMOUSTIER  (Charles  Al- 
BER'^),    a    French    dramatic   and    miscellaneous    writer,   a 
member  of  the  national  institute,  the  philotechnic  society, 
that  of  letters,  sciences,  and  arts,  and  of  the  Athenaeum  at 
Paris,  was  born  at  Villers-Coterets,  March  11,  1760.  After 
studying  with   assiduous    application  and   success   at  the 
college  of  Lisieux,  he  for  some  years  followed  the  profes- 
sion of  an   advocate,  which  he  then  quitted  to  give  up  his 
whole   time  to   general  literature   and  a  country  life.     In 
this  retreat  he   wrote   the   greater  part   of   his   published 
works,  and  was  meditating   others,   when    death   snatched 
him  away  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight,   March  2,  1801.     He 
died  in  the  arms  of  his  mother,  to  whom  he  was  exceed- 
ingly attached,  and  often  mentioned,  with  tender  regard, 
how  much   her  company  had  contributed  to  his  happiness. 
Nor  was  he  less  happy  in  the  society  of  some  friends  of  his 
youth,    whose    affection  he  preserved  to  the  last   by  his 
amiable  disposition.     He  published,   1.  "  Lettres  a  Emilie 
5ur  la  Mythologie,"  1790,  6  vols.  18mo,  an  agreeable  and 
familiar  system  of  mythology,  which   has   gone   through 
several  editions,  and  which  has  no  fault  but  what  is  com- 
mon with  young  writers  of  great  promise,  rather  too  much 
glitter  and  finery.    2.  Several  comedies  and  operas,  printed 
at  different  times,  and  all  performed   with   great   success, 
particularly   "  Le  Conciliateur."     3.  "  Le  Siege  de   Cy- 
there,"  a  poem,   1790.     4.  *'  La  Libert6  du  Cloitre,"  a 
poem.     He   left  several   manuscripts,    among  which   the 
*'  Cours  de  morale,  addresse  aux  Femmes,"  a  work  partly 
in  prose,  and  partly  in  verse,  read  at  the  Lycseum,  is  highly 
praised.     He  had   also  begun   a  long  work  which  was  to 
have  been   entitled  "  Galerie  du  dixhuitieme  Siecle,"   in 
which  the  great  characters  that  illustrated  the  close  of  the 
reign  of  Louis  XIV.  were  to  have  been  pourtrayed  ;  but  he 
had   composed  only  some  parts  of  this  work,  which  were 
read  in  some  of  the  literary  societies,  of  which  he  was  a 
member.  ^ 

DESPAUTER,  or  DESPAUTRE,  or  VAN  PAUTE- 
REN   (John),  a  celebrated    grammarian,  and  styled  the 

»  Diet.  Hist.  2  Dct,  Hist.—Memoirs  of  the  National  Institute,  vol,  IV, 


D  E  S  P  A  U  T  E  R.  517 

Priscian  of  the  Netherlands,  was  born  at  Ninove,  a  towu 
of  Flanders  situated  on  the  Dender,  towards  the  latter  part 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  He  was  educated  at  Louvain 
under  John  Custos  Breciitan  ;  and  in  1501  obtained  his 
degree  of  master  of  arts.  He  afterwards  kept  school  at 
the  college  of  Lys,  at  Bois-le-duc,  at  Berg  St.  Winox,  and 
at  Comines,  at  which  last  place  he  died  in  1520.  Three 
epitaphs  are  on  record,  which  were  made  on  him  ;  one  of 
them, 

"  Hie  jacet  unoculus,  visu  prajstantior  Argo, 
Nomen  Joannes  cui  Ninivita  fuit." 

Another  contains  one  of  the  puns  so  common  in  those  days : 

"  Grammaticam  scivit,  multos  docuitque  per  annos, 
Declinare  tamen  non  potuit  tumulum." 

The  word  inoculiis,  in  the  fii'st  of  these,  alludes  to  his  hav- 
ing the  sight  of  only  one  eye,   which   when   Christopher 
Massseus  objected  to  him,  calling   him  Polyphemus,  Des- 
pauter  replied  with  rather  more  warmth  than  was  justihed 
by  the    provocation ;    and    with    some   degree   of  vanity, 
added,  "  You   call  me   Polyphemus.      1   am   Polyphemus 
and  Euphemus  too.     Italy,  France,  and  Germany  applaud 
my  diligence,  while  you  can  expect  hereafter  to  be  ranked 
among  the  Cacophemi,   the  Zoilus's,    the   Bavius's,    tScc." 
Vossius  supports   this  ch;iracter  so  far  as  to  declare  that 
Despauter  saw  clearer  into  the  grammatical  art  with  one 
eye,  than  all  his  contemporaries  with  two.     It  is   certain 
that  his  grammar  was  long  the  only  one  used  in  the  schools 
on  the  continent,  and  has  been  i*epublished  in  an  hundred 
abridged  forms,   for  the  use  of  scholars  of  every  country  ; 
but  has  received  so   many  successive  improvements   and 
alterations,  that  little  of  the  original  remains.      His  fame, 
as  a  gi  ammarian,  to   those  who  study  the  history  of  that 
art,   will  be  found  to  rest  on  his  very  scarce  work,  entitled 
*'  Joan.  Despauterii   Ninivitse  Commentarii  Grammatici,'* 
Paris,   printed   by  Robert  Stephens,    1537,  folio.     This  is 
the  finest  and  most  complete  edition,  and  forms  a  collection 
of  all  the  treatises  which  he  had  published  separately;  viz. 
1.    "  Rudimenta."      2.   "  Syntaxis."      3.  "  Ars  versifica- 
toria."     4.   "  De  accentibns."     5.   "  De  carminum  gene- 
ribus."     6.  "  De  Figuris.''      7.  "  Ars  Epistolica;"    and  8. 
**  Orthographia,"  which  is  not  quite  finished.     Although 
bis  grammar  is  now  in  less  estimation,  he  deserves  to  be 


518  D  E  S  P  A  U  T  E  R. 

remembered  among  the  most  useful  scholars  of  his  tim6, 
and  among-  the  benefactors  to  learning  on  its  revival.' 

DESPEISSES  (Anthony),  an  eminent  French  lawyer, 
and  a  protestant,  was  born  at  Montpelier,  in  1594.  Being 
admitted  to  the  bar,  he  pleaded  in  the  parliament  of  Paris. 
Having  communicated  his  ideas  on  the  subject  to  his  friend 
and  countryman  Charles  de  Bouques,  they  resolved  to  la- 
bour conjointly  in  the  explanation  and  illustration  of  the 
civil  law,  and  the  first  fruits  of  their  labours  was  a"l'raite 
des  successions  testamentaires  ct  ab  intestat,"  Paris,  1G23, 
fol.  dedicated  to  the  son  of  the  chancellor  de  SiUery,  who 
patronized  both  authors,  and  encouraged  them  in  the  pro- 
secution of  their  work.  De  Bouques  was  removed  by  death, 
and  the  undertaking  would  have  been  discontinued,  had 
not  Despeisses  taken  the  whole  upon  himself,  and  made  it 
the  employment  of  nearly  forty  years  of  his  life.  He  was 
about  to  have  sent  it  to  press,  when  he'  died  almost  sud- 
denl}^,  in  1658.  The  work,  however,  appeared  under  the 
title,  "  Les  CEuvres  d'Antoine  Despeisses,  ou  toutes  les 
matieres  les  plus  importantes  du  droit  Romain  sont  ex- 
pliquees  et  accommodees  au  droit  Francois,"  4  vols.  fol. 
The  last  edition  was  printed  in  1750,  3  vols.  fol.  It  is  a 
work  of  vast  labour,  but  according  to  Bretonnier,  not 
exact  in  the  quotations.  It  is  recorded  of  Despeisses,  that 
at  one  time  of  his  life  he  returned  to  MontpeUier,  with  a 
view  to  practice  at  the  bar,  but  was  diverted  from  it  by 
an  incident  very  trifling  in  itself.  As  he  was  addressing 
the  court,  with  many  digressions  from  the  main  subject, 
which  was  then  the  fashion,  he  happened  to  say  something 
of  Ethiopia,  on  which  an  attorney,  loud  enough  to  be 
heard,  said,  "  He  is  now  got  to  Ethiopia,  and  he  will 
never  come  back."  Despeisses  was  so  much  hurt  at  this, 
and  probably  at  the  laugh  which  it  occasioned,  as  to  con- 
fine himself  afterwards  to  chamber-practice,  and  the  com- 
pilation of  his  great  work.  ^ 

DESPIERRES  (John),  a  learned  Benedictine,  was  a 
native  of  Flanders,  born  in  1597.  In  1640  he  took  his 
degree  of  D.  D.  at  Douay,  where  he  was  prefect  and  su- 
perior of  the  college  belonging  to  his  monastery,  and 
Iviistly,  grand  prior  and  official  of  the  spiritual  court  of 
Anchin.     He  was  most  celebrated  for  mathematical  knovv- 

1  Moreri. — Foppen    "Ribl.   T^eler. — CAemvnt    Bibl.    Curiense. — "Baillet    Jngc- 
«iens.— Fabiic.  V,M.  Med.  Lat.  vol.  II.  ^  Morcri. 


D  E  S  P  I  E  R  R  E  S.  5I9 

ledge,  and  on  tliis  account  was  requested  bv  his  majestv  to 
teach  that  science  at  Douay,  where  he  died  March  28, 
1664.  He  was  not  only  a  good  author,  hut  an  ingenious 
instrument  maker,  and  constructed  an  iron  sphere,  with 
curious  clock-worlc,  to  shew  the  motions  of  the  heavenly 
boches.  His  principal  works  are,  1.  *'  Gloria  sanctissimi 
monachorum  pairiarchre  Benedicti."  2.  "  Calendariuni 
novum  ad  legendas  horas  canonicas,  secundum  ritum  bre- 
viarii  Roiliani."  3.  ''  Vindiciie  Triihemianse,  sive  specimea 
steganographiffi  Joannis  Trithemii,  quo  auctoris  ingenuitas 
denionstratur,  et  opus  superstitione  absolvitnr,"  Dovvav, 
1641,  4to.  4.  *' Auctoritas  Scriptural  sacrae  Hebraicse, 
Grrcca^,  et  Latina?,  hoc  est  texius  Hebraici,  versionis 
septuaginta  interpretum,  et  versionis  vulgatae,"  ibid.  1651, 
4to.  5.  "  Cortimentarius  in  psalterium  Davidicum,  quo 
sensus  litteraHs  tarn  textus  Hebraici  quani  vulgatie  brevit6r 
exponitur."  6.  "  Calendarium  Romanum  novum,  et  As- 
tronomia  Aquicinctina  (Anchin),"  ibid.  1657,  fol. ' 

DESPORTES  (Francis),  an  eminent  painter,  was  born 
at  the  village  of  Champigneul,  in  Champagne,  in  1661  ; 
and  being  a  disciple  of  Nicasius,  a  Flemish  painter,  imi- 
tated his  manner  of  painting.  The  subjects  he  selected 
were  flowers,  insects,  animals,  and  representations  of  the 
chace,  which  he  designed  and  coloured  with  much  truth ; 
his  local  colours  being  very  good,  and  the  aerial  perspec- 
tive well  managed.  He  was  chiefly  emplo3-ed  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Lewis  XIV. ;  and  accompanied  the  French  ambas- 
sader,  the  duke  d'Aumont,  to  London,  where  he  was  much 
encouraged,  particularly  by  the  duke  of  Richmond  and 
lord  BoHngbrokc.  The  hotels  of  Paris,  and  the  palaces 
of  Versailles,  Marli,  &c.  contain  many  specimens  by  this 
artist,  who  died  at  a  verv  advanced  aire,  in  1743.  The 
present  Imperial  Museum  has  his  portrait,  which  was  en- 
graved by  Pouliain,  and  three  pictures  by  him,  of  great 
merit.  ■^ 

DESPORTES  (John  Baptist  Rene'  Pouppf.'e),  phy- 
sician to  the  king  of  France,  and  corresponding  member 
of  the  royal  academy  of  sciences  at  Paris,  was  a  native  of 
Vitre,  a  town  in  Bretagne,  where  he  was  born  Sept.  28, 
1704,  and  was  the  fifth  of  his  family  who  had  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  mfedical  art.     After  practisinir  witli  srreat 

t  OS 

*  RIorori.— Poppen  Bib).  Bel». 

*  Arjenville  — IMkingtofrj,— Diet:  Uhu 


520  D  E  S  P  O  R  T  E  S. 

reputation  for  some  years  at  Paris-,  he  was  appointed  phy- 
sician to  the  island  of  Domingo,  where  he  died,  after  a 
residence  of  about  ten  years,  in  1748.  He  left  an  in- 
teresting and  curious  work,  "  Histoire  des  Maladies  de 
vSaint  Domingue,"  which  was  printed  in  1770,  3  vols.  12mo. 
Besides  an  account  of  the  diseases  common  in  Domingo, 
it  contains  descriptions  of  all  the  plants  which  the  author 
found  in  the  island.  In  this  he  has  corrected  several  errors 
jn  the  accounts  left  by  Plumier  and  Barrere,  and  has  ad- 
ded, where  he  could  obtain  them,  the  names  by  which 
they  were  known  by  the  native  Caribbees  ;  also  a  pharma- 
copoeia, giving  the  qualities  or  virtues  of  the  plants.' 

DESPORl'ES  (Philip),  a  poet  to  whom  much,  of  the 
improvement  of  the  French  language  is  attributed,  was 
born  at  Chartres  in  1546,  whence  he  went  to  Paris.  At- 
taching himself  there  to  a  bishop  who  was  going  to  Rome, 
he  gained  an  opportunity  of  visiting  that  city,  and  acquiring 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Italian  language.  When  he 
returned  to  France,  he  applied  himself  entirely  to  French 
poetry,  and  was  one  of  the  few  poets  who  have  enjoyed  great 
affluence,  which  he  owed  in  part  to  the  great  liberality  of 
the  princes  by  whom  he  was  protected.  Henry  III.  of 
France  gave  him  10,000  crowns,  to  enable  him  to  publish 
his  first  works.  Charles  IX.  presented  him  with  800  crowns 
of  gold  for  his  poem  of  Rodomont.  The  admiral  de 
Joyeuse  gave  him  an  abbey  for  a  sonnet.  Besides  which, 
he  enjoyed  benefices  to  the  amount  altogether  of  10,000 
crovv'iis  a  year.  Henry  III.  even  honoured  him  with  a 
place  in  his  council,  and  consulted  him  on  the  most  im- 
portant affairs.  It  is  said  that  he  refused  several  bishop- 
rics ;  but  he  loved  solitude  and  retirement,  which  he  sought 
as  often  as  he  could.  He  was  very  liberal  to  other  men  of 
letters,  and  formed  a  large  librar3',  to  which  he  gave  them 
the  utmost  freedom  of  access.  Some,  who  were  envious 
of  his  reputation,  reproached  him  with  having  borrowed 
freely  from  the  Italian  poets,  which  he  was  far  from  de- 
nying ;  and  when  a  book  appeared  upon  the  subject,  en- 
titled "  Rencontre  des  Muses  de  France  et  d' Italic,"  he 
said,  "  If  I  had  known  the  author's  design,  I  could  have  fur- 
nished him  with  many  more  instances  than  he  has  collected." 
After  the  death  of  Henry  III.  he  joined  himself  for  a  time 
to  the  party  of  the  League,  but  afterwards  repented,  and 

1  Diet,  Hist. — Rees's  Cyelopsedia. 


D  E  S  P  O  R  T  E  S.  521 

laboured  zealously  to  serve  the  interests   of  Henry  IV.  in 
Normandy,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  friendship  and 
esteem  of  that  liberal  monarch.     He  died  in  1G06.     Des- 
portes  is  acknowledged  to  have  been  one  of  the  ci)ief  im- 
provers of  the  French  language.      His  works  consist  ot  son- 
nets, stanzas,    elegies,    songs,    epigrams,    in)itations,    and 
other  poems ;  some   of  which  were   first  published  in  4to, 
by  Robert  Stephens,  in  1573.      A  translation  of  the  Psalms 
was  one  of  his  latest  works,  and  one  of  the  most  feeble. 
A  delightful  simplicity  is  the  characteristic   of  his  poetry, 
which  is  therefore  more  perfect  when  applied  to  amorous 
and  gallant,  than   to   noble  subjects.     He  often   imitated 
and  almost  translated  Tibullus,  Ovid,  and  other  classics. 
A  few  sacred  poems  are  published  in  some  editions  of  his 
Psalms,   which  have  little  more  merit  than  the  Psalms  to 
which  they  are  subjoined.' 

DESROCHERS    (Andier    Stephen    John),    engraver 
to   the  French  king,  was   born   at   Lyons,  and  settled  at 
Paris,  where   he  died  in  1741,    at  a  very   advanced  age. 
He   engraved   subjects  from  the  ancient  mythology,    es- 
pecially after  the  paintings  of  Correggio.    But  the  greatest 
of  all  his  performances  is  a  long  series  of  portraits  in  busts, 
of  persons  signalized  by  their  birth,  in  war,  in  the  ministry, 
in  the  magistracy,  in  the  sciences,  and  in  the  arts.     This 
series  amounts  to  upwards  of  seven  hundred  portraits,  with 
verses  at  bottom,    the   greater  part  of   them  by  Gacon. 
The  emperor  Charles  VI.  recompensed  des  Rochers  with  a 
fine  golden  medal  for  some  impressions  of  the  portrait  of 
his  imperial  majesty,  which  this  engraver  had  sent  him.  * 

1  Moreri  in  Portes. — Diet.  Hist.  ^  Diet.  Hist,  ia  Andier. 


INDEX 


TO    THE 


ELEVENTH    VOLUME. 

Tiiose  marked  thus  *  are  new. 
Those  marked  f  are  re-written,  with  additions. 


Page 

GkichtoK,  James 1 

* Robert 9 

Crillon,  L.  Berthon  de 10 

ICrinesius,  Christ 13 

fCrinitus,  Peter ib. 

*Crispe,  SirNich 14 

f . Tobias 19 

^Crispin,  Gilbert 21 

*. John ib. 

*Crispus,  Ant 22 

-{- J.  B ib. 

tCroese,  Gemrd ib. 

•»Croft,  Sir  Herbert 23 

Herbert,  B]) 24 

Will 2S 

Crofton,  Zach ib. 

*Croius,  John 29 

Croix  dit  Maine,  F ib. 

-^Croke,  or  Crook,  George  . .  30 

* Richard 31 

•fCromwell,  Lord 34 

Oliver 41 

*Cronstedt,  A.  F 78 

Cross,  Michael 79 

■*Crosse,  John ib. 

*Croune,  Will 80 

-|-Crousaz,  J.  P.  de 81 

*Crowley,  Robert SG 

Crowne,  John 87 

Croxall,  Sam 89 

-^Croze,  M.V.  la 90 

*Cruciger,  Caspar 95 

* George 96 

*Crucius,  James ib. 


Paerc 

fCruden,  Alexander 97 

*Cruikshank,  William 99 

*Crusius,  Christian 101 

t Martin 102 

Ctesias, 103 

Ctesibius 104 

Cudworth,  Ralph ib. 

Cuerenhert,  Theo.  Van. . .  Ill 

Cuff,  Henry 112 

Cujacius,  James 1 IG 

fCuUen,  Will 117 

fCullum,  Sir  John 123 

i  Culpepper,  Nich 130 

* Sir  Tliomas  ...  131 

fCumberland,  Bp 132 

* Richard 139 

*Cuming,  Sir  Alex 154 

William 15G 

Cunaeus,  Peter 158 

Cunitia,  Maria 159 

Cunningham,  Alexander. .  IGO 

f John 1G4 

->^ Will 16G 

-jCuper,  Gisbert 167 

Curio,  Coelius  Sec 168 

*Currie,  James 170 

^Curtis,  Will 174. 

"'^Curtius,  Coinelius 178 

* Mich.  Conrad  ....  ib. 

jQuintus 180 

Cusa,  Nich.  de 182 

fCuspinian,  John 183 

Cuthbert,  St ..  184 

-]  Cutts,  John,  Lord , .  185 


I  X  D  E  ?C. 


C23 


("yncas 1B7 

Cyprian,  T.  C 188 

Cyril  of  Jenisalt  in 193 

of  AL'xaiuliia 194 

* Lucar ]  96 

Dacicr,  Andrew 193 


Anne 


im 


fDahl,  Mich '2O0 

Daillc,  John 207 

*Dakins,  Will 212 

*Dalc,  Sam 913 

f  Dalcchanip,  James 213 

Dalen,  ("orn.  Van 214 

Dalin,  Olaus  Von 215 

tDallington,  Rx>bert ib. 

*Da]matin,  George 216 

»DalrympIe,  Alex 217 

4 '- Dav.  L(].  Hailcs  229 

* James 237 

Dalron,  John 238 

Richard 239 

Michael 241 

'^^Dalv,  Daniel ib. 

^Dalzell,  Anth 242 

•f  Danuisecnus,  John 243 

Danuitcins 245 

f  Damasus,  pope 245 

Damian,  Peter 246' 

Dampier,  Will 247 

Danchet,  Anth 250 

SDanckert?,  family  of ib. 

Dandini,  Here.  Francis  .  .  .  252 
Jerome ib. 

"  ■*  v.3C."'ai ..    .•••••*.    ID* 

'^ Vincent 253 

Pietro ib. 

^Dandolo,  And 254 

Dandre-Bardon,  M.  F ib. 

f  Daneau,  Lambert 255 

Danes,  Peter 256 

f  Danet,  Peter ib 

f  Dangeau,  L.  C.  dc  . . . . 

P.. 

f  Daniel,  Arnaud 261 

Gabi  iel ib. 

t Peter 263 

f Saxiiuel ib. 

fDante,  Alighieri 26S 

Ignatius 275 

— — —  John  Baptist, , . , , ,  ib. 


258 
260 


Dante,  Peter  Vincent ....  276 

*Dantine,  Francis 27Q 

i'Dantz,  J.  A 277 

*Danvers,  Lord  Danby ib. 

•>^Dappers,  Oliver 279 

*Daran,  James ib. 

*Darc()n,  J.  C.  E.  L 281 

Darcy,  Patrick 282 

*Dare5,  Phrsgius 285 

*Darquier,  Aug ib. 

*Dartis,  John 2S6 

*Darwin,  Erasmus ib. 

Dassier,  John 290 

■^Dati,  Augustine ib. 

Charles 292 

Daval,  Peter 293 

f  Davenant,  John ib. 

t Will 296 

Charles 301 

U  ill.  jun 305 

Davenport,  Christopher ...  ib. 

John 307 

fDavid,  St 303 

^  of  Armenia 309 

George ib. 

Davies,  John,  D.D 310 

John,  critic 311 

t Sir  John 312 

* John,  translator  . .  318 

* Miles ib. 

Samuel 319 

* Sneyd ib. 

Thomas 320 


*Davila,  Gilles  Gonz 322 

Louis ib. 

t Henry  CatU 323 

Davis,  H.  E 325 

* John ib, 

* John  of  Hereford. .  331 

•>^ Row  land 332 

^Davison,  William 333 

^Daubenton,  L.  J.  M 343 

* William 351 

*Daubuz,  Charles ib. 

fDaimiius,  Christian 352 

Daun,  Count ib. 

Daurat,  John 353 

*Dausque,  Claudius 355 

*Da\ve3,  Lancelot ib» 

t — K^cbaid 356 


524 


INDEX. 


Page 

fDawes,  William  . . . . 359 

fDay,  John 363 

* John,  son .  , . 364 

* Richard 365 

■\ Thomas ib. 

*Deane,  Edmond 373 

*Decembrio,  P.  C 373 

Dechales,  C.  F.  M 374 

*Decius,  Philip 375 

Decker,  John ib. 

•f Thomas 376 

*De  Courcy,  Richard 376 

Dee,  John 378 

* Arthur 388 

*Deering,  Charles 3S9 

fDe  Foe,  Daniel 391 

■*Deidier.  Anth 406 

*De  la  Com',  James ib. 

*Delamet,  A.  A 40S 

Delany,  Patrick 409 

— : Mary 415 

Deleyre,  Alex 418 

*Delfau,  Francis 421 

*Delft,  W.J ib. 

*Delius,  Christ.  T 4'22 

'*De  Lolme,  J.  L ib. 

Delrio,  M.  Anth 425 

Demades 426 

*Demainbray,  S.  C ib. 

Demetrius,  Phalereus  ....  427 
* Pepanus 428 

De  Missy,  Caesar 429 

-j-Democritus 430 

-fDemoivre,  Abraham 436 

fDemonax 438 

Demosthenes 439 

"*Demours,  Peter 444 

-{•Dempster,  Thomas 445 

Denham,  Sir  John  ......  448 


Page 

*Denis,  Michael. . .  * 453 

*Denison,  John 454 

*Denne,  John 455 

* Samuel 457 

^Denner,  Balth 45S 

f  Dennis,  John 459 

Denny,  Sir.  Anth 471 

f  Denores,  Jason 473 

Denton,  John 474 

* Thomas ib. 

* William 475 

*D'Eon,  Chevalier 47S 

Derham,  William 481 

fDering,  Edward 483 

*Dermody,  Thomas 485 

Derrick,  Sam 4SS 

fDesaguliers,  J.  T 489 

*Desault,  Peter 493 

* Peter  Joseph  ....  ib, 

Des  Bai'reaux,  J.  V 495 

fDesbillons,  F.  J.  T 497 

^Desbois,  F.  A 498 

fDes  Cartes,  Rene 499 

*Desgodetz,  Anth 503 

Deshais,  J.  B.  H. 509 

*Desire,  Arthur 511 

*Deslandes,  A.  F.  B. ib, 

Desmahis,  J.  F 513 

fDesmaiseaux,  Peter ib. 

Desmares,  Toussaint  ....  515 

*Desmolets,  P.  N ib, 

*Desmoustier,  C.  A 516 

-j-Despauter,  John ib. 

*Despeisse3,  Anth 518 

*Despierres,  John ib. 

fDesportes,  Francis 519 

* J.  B.  R.  Pouppee  ib; 

t Philip 520 

Desrochers,  Andier,  S,  J.. .  521 


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